Hi All,

My Blackberry plants are three years old now (and
still no flowers or fruit). Each spring, the branches
go green with leaves, but some don't. On the dead
ones, do I let mother nature take its cource and
them fall off naturally or should I prune the dead
ones?

Many thanks,
-T

On 6/1/2021 2:18 AM, T wrote:
Hi All,

My Blackberry plants are three years old now (and
still no flowers or fruit).Â* Each spring, the branches
go green with leaves, but some don't.Â* On the dead
ones, do I let mother nature take its cource and
them fall off naturally or should I prune the dead
ones?

Many thanks,
-T

If these are "wild" blackberries , they fruit on last year's growth .
Those canes die after fruiting and can be pruned - in fact they must be
pruned or you end up with a big mess of dead canes in the way of picking
any fruit . And I have the scars to prove it , that's why I planted
thornless .
--
Snag
Race only matters to racists ...

T wrote:
Hi All,

My Blackberry plants are three years old now (and
still no flowers or fruit). Each spring, the branches
go green with leaves, but some don't. On the dead
ones, do I let mother nature take its cource and
them fall off naturally or should I prune the dead
ones?

in an arid environment dead material is valuable as
mulch and protection against the wind drying things out.

thorny mulch may not be the best material but when
nothing else is available it would have to do.

around here, as much as i can i get things buried
once i know they're done. that way the worms and
fungi can get to work on them asap.


songbird

On 6/1/21 4:42 AM, Snag wrote:
On 6/1/2021 2:18 AM, T wrote:
Hi All,

My Blackberry plants are three years old now (and
still no flowers or fruit).Â* Each spring, the branches
go green with leaves, but some don't.Â* On the dead
ones, do I let mother nature take its cource and
them fall off naturally or should I prune the dead
ones?

Many thanks,
-T

Â* If these are "wild" blackberries , they fruit on last year's growth .
Those canes die after fruiting and can be pruned - in fact they must be
pruned or you end up with a big mess of dead canes in the way of picking
any fruit . And I have the scars to prove it , that's why I planted
thornless .

They are Arapaho Blackberries.

Pruned they are!

I have new growth this year and some old growth
on old canes. Have no seen any flowers yet.

Canes. I never knew what those branches were
called.

Thank you!

On 6/1/2021 9:06 AM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

My Blackberry plants are three years old now (and
still no flowers or fruit). Each spring, the branches
go green with leaves, but some don't. On the dead
ones, do I let mother nature take its cource and
them fall off naturally or should I prune the dead
ones?

in an arid environment dead material is valuable as
mulch and protection against the wind drying things out.

thorny mulch may not be the best material but when
nothing else is available it would have to do.

around here, as much as i can i get things buried
once i know they're done. that way the worms and
fungi can get to work on them asap.


songbird


His Arapaho's are thornless - I have some in my berry patch .
--
Snag
Race only matters to racists ...

On 6/1/21 5:25 PM, Snag wrote:

Â* His Arapaho's are thornless - I have some in my berry patch .

How many years did it take yours to fruit?

On 6/1/2021 8:18 PM, T wrote:
On 6/1/21 5:25 PM, Snag wrote:

Â*Â* His Arapaho's are thornless - I have some in my berry patch .

How many years did it take yours to fruit?


They haven't yet ... but they should next spring . Two of our six were
transplanted last spring , 2 were new then - those 4 plants were very
stressed last winter , all top growth was killed by subzero temps . The
remaining 2 were new this spring , cold temps and too much rain have
been a problem .
--
Snag
Race only matters to racists ...

On 6/1/21 8:20 PM, Snag wrote:
On 6/1/2021 8:18 PM, T wrote:
On 6/1/21 5:25 PM, Snag wrote:

Â*Â* His Arapaho's are thornless - I have some in my berry patch .

How many years did it take yours to fruit?


They haven't yet ... but they should next spring . Two of our six were
transplanted last spring , 2 were new then - those 4 plants were very
stressed last winter , all top growth was killed by subzero temps . The
remaining 2 were new this spring , cold temps and too much rain have
been a problem .

One of my four is all total new growth. All four
are on their third year. I made sure they (everyone)
was watered in the winter.

All three on my Choke Berries are fine. And my
Goji and loving life. My back hurts just thinking
of picking them. I have a months or so before
that starts. Chock's are much easier to pick:
one once in the fall.

On Tue, 1 Jun 2021 22:20:04 -0500, Snag wrote:

On 6/1/2021 8:18 PM, T wrote:
On 6/1/21 5:25 PM, Snag wrote:

** His Arapaho's are thornless - I have some in my berry patch .

How many years did it take yours to fruit?


They haven't yet ... but they should next spring . Two of our six were
transplanted last spring , 2 were new then - those 4 plants were very
stressed last winter , all top growth was killed by subzero temps . The
remaining 2 were new this spring , cold temps and too much rain have
been a problem .


I need to try some other variety of thornless- problem is, I do not
recall what I have, nor did I by the time they started to fruit a year
or 3 after they went in.

They fruit well enough, look great, but they do not have the deep,
wonderful flavor of the scratch-your-eyes-out old ones I spent so long
getting rid of.

Boron Elgar wrote:
....
I need to try some other variety of thornless- problem is, I do not
recall what I have, nor did I by the time they started to fruit a year
or 3 after they went in.

They fruit well enough, look great, but they do not have the deep,
wonderful flavor of the scratch-your-eyes-out old ones I spent so long
getting rid of.

there are a few things i'm willing to just buy at the store.
raspberry seedless jam and blackberry seedless jam. i like
both of them but i don't want them very often and i sure don't
want anything around here like a blackberry patch having seen
what they are like out west.

acres and acres of blackberry brambles is enough to give me
nightmares.


songbird

On Wed, 2 Jun 2021 08:49:18 -0400, songbird
wrote:

Boron Elgar wrote:
...
I need to try some other variety of thornless- problem is, I do not
recall what I have, nor did I by the time they started to fruit a year
or 3 after they went in.

They fruit well enough, look great, but they do not have the deep,
wonderful flavor of the scratch-your-eyes-out old ones I spent so long
getting rid of.

there are a few things i'm willing to just buy at the store.
raspberry seedless jam and blackberry seedless jam. i like
both of them but i don't want them very often and i sure don't
want anything around here like a blackberry patch having seen
what they are like out west.

acres and acres of blackberry brambles is enough to give me
nightmares.


songbird

Well understood.

I used to have a wild raspberry of some sort. The stems were more
thorn than stem. Torturous things.The berries were enclosed until they
were almost ripe, but the fruit was so appealing to the wildlife, that
I never got any. Been digging it out for 25 years.

The mean things looked a bit like this, plant wise, though the berries
differed.

https://www.edibleeastend.com/2014/0...pberry-season/

On 6/2/2021 5:49 AM, songbird wrote:
Boron Elgar wrote:
...
I need to try some other variety of thornless- problem is, I do not
recall what I have, nor did I by the time they started to fruit a year
or 3 after they went in.

They fruit well enough, look great, but they do not have the deep,
wonderful flavor of the scratch-your-eyes-out old ones I spent so long
getting rid of.

there are a few things i'm willing to just buy at the store.
raspberry seedless jam and blackberry seedless jam. i like
both of them but i don't want them very often and i sure don't
want anything around here like a blackberry patch having seen
what they are like out west.

acres and acres of blackberry brambles is enough to give me
nightmares.


When I first moved to Seattle, I loved to go out and pick several
gallons each year. A couple pairs of jeans and an old leather coat, and
I was ready to go picking.

Bob F wrote:
....
When I first moved to Seattle, I loved to go out and pick several
gallons each year. A couple pairs of jeans and an old leather coat, and
I was ready to go picking.

the last time i picked berries in the woods it was thimbleberries
and i ended up stepping on a rock that gave way and dumped my
container on the hillside. and the bad thing about that was that i
don't really much like thimbleberries as compared to raspberries,
blueberries, blackberries, etc. heh.


songbird

On Wed, 2 Jun 2021 19:19:02 -0400, songbird
wrote:

Bob F wrote:
...
When I first moved to Seattle, I loved to go out and pick several
gallons each year. A couple pairs of jeans and an old leather coat, and
I was ready to go picking.

the last time i picked berries in the woods it was thimbleberries
and i ended up stepping on a rock that gave way and dumped my
container on the hillside. and the bad thing about that was that i
don't really much like thimbleberries as compared to raspberries,
blueberries, blackberries, etc. heh.


songbird


Thimbleberries! Shades of growing up in Michigan.

On 6/2/2021 4:19 PM, songbird wrote:
Bob F wrote:
...
When I first moved to Seattle, I loved to go out and pick several
gallons each year. A couple pairs of jeans and an old leather coat, and
I was ready to go picking.

the last time i picked berries in the woods it was thimbleberries
and i ended up stepping on a rock that gave way and dumped my
container on the hillside. and the bad thing about that was that i
don't really much like thimbleberries as compared to raspberries,
blueberries, blackberries, etc. heh.

Personally, I love thimble berries. They are a close second to
raspberries, but a lot harder to find many here.