I'm guessing that maybe some/a lot of these could be from seed? Or are
they all big and beefy?

I've got some 'cultivated' blackberries - actually, I think they're wild,
but I keep them under control as they are delicious, big and juicy - and
they love opera and going to the theatre...

They do have some of the most vicious thorns though.

Each year there are a lot of little new plants coming up where I've let
some of the unpicked berries fall. They are quite different from layered
or root grown plants.

--
regards andyw


Probably some are from seeds. The land had been completely untouched
for between 10 and 20 years and was impenetrable even with a machete. There
must have been thousands of bramble seeds fall over that time. They are
certainly persistent.

Link to a "before photo" of part of the land:

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/P9230016.JPG

At the time I was trying to get rid of the brambles by burning some of the
rubbish and a mountain of old magazines left by the previous occupants of
the property. This approach had negligible effect, a flame thrower would
have been better.

Photo of this part of the property as it is today, converted into a small
orchard:

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/Hpim5398a.jpg

There are other larger pieces of land around the property which were
similarly overgrown with brambles and have since been converted to lawns
(with brambles) :-(

David.