I am so frustrated I get close to tears every time I walk past my front flower beds.
For the four years I've lived here, I've been battling wild blackberry (I assume that's what they are, even though they don't produce a single berry -- they are nasty, evil, horrible thorny things).
These things are evil. Every spring and summer I will spend days wearing thorn-proof gloves, pulling these things out by the roots, suffering cuts and scratches on my arms... then 2 weeks later they are all back, growing more vigorously than ever.
No matter how much I fight them, they are getting more aggressive every year. Now, they've jumped the driveway and I found a shoot growing right up in another bed. They also jumped a sidewalk into another bed. I have nightmares of these things choking off my entire home and property.
I've put down thick layers of newspaper, then thick mulch, in an effort to keep sunlight to getting to them... but they just shoot right up through it all like it was fertilizer.
Tonight, I was doing battle with them and literally, when I came back from taking away a huge bag of them, new babies seem to have sprouted in their place.
Just now, when searching for ways to fight these evil thorns, I found a product called Roundup Ready-To-Use Wild Blackberry Plus Vine & Brush Killer.
Now, I do NOT use chemicals... period. Not one single time.
But folks, these thorns have me SO frustrated... it completely kills any joy of gardening... and I'm someone who actually enjoys weeding... I'm thinking of trying this product.
Before I do... can someone talk me down from the ledge? Has anyone had success removing wild blackberries or other aggressive thorny weeds? Thanks in advance!!
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GeorgiaGirl
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Before spraying made-by-Monsanto chemicals around my property, I would (a) find out EXACTLY and FOR CERTAIN what the plant is that's frustrating me, (b) what its likes and dislikes are, and (c) what it's natural enemies/competitors are. What then? For example, you may be able to change certain conditions like pH to create an inhospitable environment for the thorny thing while introducing a vigorous competitor that you like. Just please, please don't give your money to Monsanto and spray toxic herbicide that will end up in your body and mine.GeorgiaGirl wrote:I am so frustrated I get close to tears every time I walk past my front flower beds.
For the four years I've lived here, I've been battling wild blackberry (I assume that's what they are, even though they don't produce a single berry -- they are nasty, evil, horrible thorny things).
These things are evil. Every spring and summer I will spend days wearing thorn-proof gloves, pulling these things out by the roots, suffering cuts and scratches on my arms... then 2 weeks later they are all back, growing more vigorously than ever.
No matter how much I fight them, they are getting more aggressive every year. Now, they've jumped the driveway and I found a shoot growing right up in another bed. They also jumped a sidewalk into another bed. I have nightmares of these things choking off my entire home and property.
I've put down thick layers of newspaper, then thick mulch, in an effort to keep sunlight to getting to them... but they just shoot right up through it all like it was fertilizer.
Tonight, I was doing battle with them and literally, when I came back from taking away a huge bag of them, new babies seem to have sprouted in their place.
Just now, when searching for ways to fight these evil thorns, I found a product called Roundup Ready-To-Use Wild Blackberry Plus Vine & Brush Killer.
Now, I do NOT use chemicals... period. Not one single time.
But folks, these thorns have me SO frustrated... it completely kills any joy of gardening... and I'm someone who actually enjoys weeding... I'm thinking of trying this product.
Before I do... can someone talk me down from the ledge? Has anyone had success removing wild blackberries or other aggressive thorny weeds? Thanks in advance!!
Goats have been used for brush control in the West for a couple of decades. People hire them by the day or even week for severe overgrowth of shrubs, weeds, or whatever. The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) hires them to clear brush on the sides of highways to reduce fire danger--no spark-generating equipment in hot, dry weather.
One of the goats' favorite foods is...blackberry vines. Thorns and all.
If indeed you're dealing with blackberries (but the lack of berries is puzzling), have a goat-keeper take a look at the situation. Evidently, people in metro Atlanta are now keeping goats as well as chickens, perhaps even in the city limits:
https://www.pba.org/programming/programs/thisisatlanta/2762/
Surely one of these good folk will want to help you stay on the Good side of the Force....and make some goats very happy!
Best wishes. I've subdued blackberries before--they grow wild in California, and the berries attract birds, who then spread the seeds far and wide, and the runners do a pretty thorough job, too--but it took boiling water, a sharp, square shovel, and sneakiness spread over several seasons. (And not in that order, either: the sharp, square shovel came first.)
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
One of the goats' favorite foods is...blackberry vines. Thorns and all.
If indeed you're dealing with blackberries (but the lack of berries is puzzling), have a goat-keeper take a look at the situation. Evidently, people in metro Atlanta are now keeping goats as well as chickens, perhaps even in the city limits:
https://www.pba.org/programming/programs/thisisatlanta/2762/
Surely one of these good folk will want to help you stay on the Good side of the Force....and make some goats very happy!
Best wishes. I've subdued blackberries before--they grow wild in California, and the berries attract birds, who then spread the seeds far and wide, and the runners do a pretty thorough job, too--but it took boiling water, a sharp, square shovel, and sneakiness spread over several seasons. (And not in that order, either: the sharp, square shovel came first.)
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
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GeorgiaGirl
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JLatimer, you had me at "Monsanto"... or Mon-satan-o as we call it... you're so right, I hate that company so much that even if they started selling something organic that cured cancer and the common cold, I still wouldn't want to put a penny in their coffers.
As for changing conditions to weaken its hold, it seems to be growing in everything from richly amended soil to the nastiest compacted clay (underneath a landing where nothing else grows). It also grows right up through 3" of newspaper and mulch.
Cynthia, I would love to have goats help me fight this battle... unfortunately the worst of the lot is directly underneath a landing off of the front porch and I don't think even a dwarf goat would fit under there. (For that matter, I don't know how sunlight is getting under there except at maybe 6am!!) Also, if the goats only ate the thorns and didn't also yank/dig out the roots, the things would regenerate by the time the goats were back home.
(BTW, I have wanted to have laying hens and a dairy goat since I was 11 years old, and I've been following the Georgia "right to grow" bill with great interest. My husband and I still plan to have one as soon as we can! My husband hates mowing so the goat idea is perfect for many reasons.
Oh -- another extreme solution I thought of was salting the earth underneath that landing. Nothing else would grow under there except perhaps ivy (which I won't plant) or something else that's invasive... so why not salt it... except of course for the thought of salt creeping elsewhere, into the water table etc.
As for changing conditions to weaken its hold, it seems to be growing in everything from richly amended soil to the nastiest compacted clay (underneath a landing where nothing else grows). It also grows right up through 3" of newspaper and mulch.
Cynthia, I would love to have goats help me fight this battle... unfortunately the worst of the lot is directly underneath a landing off of the front porch and I don't think even a dwarf goat would fit under there. (For that matter, I don't know how sunlight is getting under there except at maybe 6am!!) Also, if the goats only ate the thorns and didn't also yank/dig out the roots, the things would regenerate by the time the goats were back home.
(BTW, I have wanted to have laying hens and a dairy goat since I was 11 years old, and I've been following the Georgia "right to grow" bill with great interest. My husband and I still plan to have one as soon as we can! My husband hates mowing so the goat idea is perfect for many reasons.
Oh -- another extreme solution I thought of was salting the earth underneath that landing. Nothing else would grow under there except perhaps ivy (which I won't plant) or something else that's invasive... so why not salt it... except of course for the thought of salt creeping elsewhere, into the water table etc.
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Gary350
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I have never heard of wild blackberries that don't produce berries. Do you have a pic you can post?
I use salt water to kill plants. I buy cattle salt for $3.95 for 50 lbs at Tractor Supply Store. Farms Co-op also sells salt. I mix as much salt as I can get dissolved into the water then I water the plants. I water the plants morning and evening in dry weather. It about a week the plants are dead. It works good on hard to kill things like Poison Ivy. It works great expecially in the dry months when it does not rain much. The salt is not toxic as you know so don't worry about using it. After about 5 good hard rains the salt is gone.
I use salt water to kill plants. I buy cattle salt for $3.95 for 50 lbs at Tractor Supply Store. Farms Co-op also sells salt. I mix as much salt as I can get dissolved into the water then I water the plants. I water the plants morning and evening in dry weather. It about a week the plants are dead. It works good on hard to kill things like Poison Ivy. It works great expecially in the dry months when it does not rain much. The salt is not toxic as you know so don't worry about using it. After about 5 good hard rains the salt is gone.
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gixxerific
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That is a hard one.
The salt idea might work. It could be flushed out with time. I even just watched a video about people growing lush trees and vegetable in Jordan near the dead sea. The most salted place on earth. They used compost and organics though it didn't remove the salt per say the microbial action as well as their efforts at least locked up the salt.
But what about the boiling water method Cynthia talked about. Maybe followed by a heavy dose of vinegar. Rinse and repeat.
I too also have a severe hatred for all that is Monsanto. Their products are the least of their problems. If it comes to using brush killer. Which is what you would need to use. Try to find a different brand not made by Monsanto.
Good luck
P.s here is a link I found about using vinegar. It even has some other recipes to add to the vinegar including salt, soap, gin.
https://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/vinegar-weed-killer.html
The salt idea might work. It could be flushed out with time. I even just watched a video about people growing lush trees and vegetable in Jordan near the dead sea. The most salted place on earth. They used compost and organics though it didn't remove the salt per say the microbial action as well as their efforts at least locked up the salt.
But what about the boiling water method Cynthia talked about. Maybe followed by a heavy dose of vinegar. Rinse and repeat.
I too also have a severe hatred for all that is Monsanto. Their products are the least of their problems. If it comes to using brush killer. Which is what you would need to use. Try to find a different brand not made by Monsanto.
Good luck
P.s here is a link I found about using vinegar. It even has some other recipes to add to the vinegar including salt, soap, gin.
https://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/vinegar-weed-killer.html
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rainbowgardener
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The fact sheet I found about wild blackberry does make clear what a menace they are. But to further your case against the roundup, it says
Blackberry plants usually regrow following herbicide application;
So if you were to try the chemicals, you would be committing yourself to a long term program of repeated applications.
The most hopeful thing it has to say, is that the blackberries are not found in cultivated (ie farmed) areas, because repeated tilling does get rid of it. ". A single cultivation, however, can fragment the rhizomes and spread the weed."
https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7434.html
It makes me think about cynthia's post about how she won a war with Bermuda grass, a similarly tough spreading by rhizomes pest (just without the thorns, which does make it easier)
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=130376&highlight=bermuda+grass#130376
So it seems like when you till or dig an area to get the blackberry out, what you really need to do is dig up and sift the soil to be sure you get all those rhizome pieces out.
Blackberry plants usually regrow following herbicide application;
So if you were to try the chemicals, you would be committing yourself to a long term program of repeated applications.
The most hopeful thing it has to say, is that the blackberries are not found in cultivated (ie farmed) areas, because repeated tilling does get rid of it. ". A single cultivation, however, can fragment the rhizomes and spread the weed."
https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7434.html
It makes me think about cynthia's post about how she won a war with Bermuda grass, a similarly tough spreading by rhizomes pest (just without the thorns, which does make it easier)
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=130376&highlight=bermuda+grass#130376
So it seems like when you till or dig an area to get the blackberry out, what you really need to do is dig up and sift the soil to be sure you get all those rhizome pieces out.
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GeorgiaGirl
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Thanks for the ideas and links!! SO appreciated!!!
Here's what they look like... let me know if anyone wants leaf detail etc. on these nightmarish things:
[img]https://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac138/MrsJohnnyG/evilthorns.jpg[/img][/img]
BTW - neither of these particular ones in the photos were there a week ago. And there are 100+ more just like 'em...
Here's what they look like... let me know if anyone wants leaf detail etc. on these nightmarish things:
[img]https://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac138/MrsJohnnyG/evilthorns.jpg[/img][/img]
BTW - neither of these particular ones in the photos were there a week ago. And there are 100+ more just like 'em...
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applestar
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Having battled and mostly prevailed against the very same menace, I can tell you the most likely reason you're not seeing any berries: Blackberries fruit on 2nd year "Flori-" canes. You're pulling out/cutting the first year "Primo-" canes.
Now, here is my battle plan which has worked on an area I have turned into a tomato bed this year:
(1) Choose a line of plants, then systematically cut down everything else. Through the year, just cut or pull at ground level anything that tries to grow, BUT LET THE MAIN LINE OF PLANTS GROW. Put up a wire trellis to keep the canes in line, and when they are waist high, evenly prune to about 30" and cut any side branches to 8~10".
(2) Next spring, continue to cut down all other canes, but let the main line of floricanes grow out and flower. They will bear fruit AND DIE.
I actually did this for 3 years because I decided that I might enjoy having a blackberry patch, and these berries tasted really yummy. The trouble was that my wild(?) plants were EXTREMELY THORNY. It got to be too much.
After the 2nd fruiting year, I decided to start a new THORNLESS blackberry patch. So in the fall I cut down everything and sheet mulched the area with 2 layers of heavy corrugated cardboard. There are some floricanes around the perimeter that I'm letting fruit this year but my new thornless Triple Crown blackberries are budding this year and will fruit. If they are every bit as good as the wild thorny ones, I'm eradicating the wild ones.
If you can't beat them, EAT THEM! ... until you can replace them with something better.
Now, here is my battle plan which has worked on an area I have turned into a tomato bed this year:
(1) Choose a line of plants, then systematically cut down everything else. Through the year, just cut or pull at ground level anything that tries to grow, BUT LET THE MAIN LINE OF PLANTS GROW. Put up a wire trellis to keep the canes in line, and when they are waist high, evenly prune to about 30" and cut any side branches to 8~10".
(2) Next spring, continue to cut down all other canes, but let the main line of floricanes grow out and flower. They will bear fruit AND DIE.
I actually did this for 3 years because I decided that I might enjoy having a blackberry patch, and these berries tasted really yummy. The trouble was that my wild(?) plants were EXTREMELY THORNY. It got to be too much.
After the 2nd fruiting year, I decided to start a new THORNLESS blackberry patch. So in the fall I cut down everything and sheet mulched the area with 2 layers of heavy corrugated cardboard. There are some floricanes around the perimeter that I'm letting fruit this year but my new thornless Triple Crown blackberries are budding this year and will fruit. If they are every bit as good as the wild thorny ones, I'm eradicating the wild ones.
If you can't beat them, EAT THEM! ... until you can replace them with something better.
if you do the salt thing and you have sun there, soda plant will clean it up.
if you use glyphosphate, maybe instead of spraying just give it an IV of sorts. And use a generic.
I like what apple said, because if you don't give a plant an "outlet" it concentrates on shoots.
Another option from my imagination: cut the shoots, leave the main cane, but put something over that blocks the light.
My weed manual doesn't even bother differentiating within this family. It's all just raspberry/brambles
if you use glyphosphate, maybe instead of spraying just give it an IV of sorts. And use a generic.
I like what apple said, because if you don't give a plant an "outlet" it concentrates on shoots.
Another option from my imagination: cut the shoots, leave the main cane, but put something over that blocks the light.
My weed manual doesn't even bother differentiating within this family. It's all just raspberry/brambles
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GeorgiaGirl
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Thanks again for all the input... I actually have planted five thornless blackberries (in a spot where it's okay if they go crazy) and am excited about them... because these wild ones keep choking off my "good" shrubs and they also attack my puppies and visitors, plus the bed they're in is extremely sloped and hard to weed, I can't stomach the thought of leaving any to grow... I don't care if it produced the sweetest berries in the world, it would NOT be worth it.
BTW, if I pull them all out in this large bed, will they start tunneling underground and invading everywhere else??! I keep thinking I've gotten all the rhizome but obviously not since it's starting rearing its ugly head on the other side of large areas of concrete!!
There are SO many "main canes" at this point, choking off every single shrub in that bed, I just want them OUT. *sigh*
BTW, if I pull them all out in this large bed, will they start tunneling underground and invading everywhere else??! I keep thinking I've gotten all the rhizome but obviously not since it's starting rearing its ugly head on the other side of large areas of concrete!!
There are SO many "main canes" at this point, choking off every single shrub in that bed, I just want them OUT. *sigh*-
Gary350
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Everyone is right. You only get fruit on 2nd year canes. First year they grow canes, 2nd year they make fruit, 3rd year they die. I'm not 100% sure they actually die the 3rd year it seems like I have fruit on old canes more than 1 year but its hard to tell for sure I have never marked old canes so I can reconize them the 3 or 4 year. I let my blackberry patch migrate to the east for a few years then I let it migrate back to the west for a few years then back to the east again and so on. The old canes get cut down with the lawn mower.
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Ozark Lady
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GeorgiaGirl
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It takes 3 years of pulling and killing them and cutting them down before they give up. You can win by doing it by hand, get some thick gloves and a spade. If you use salt then you are just using another poison and one that will damage the soil for a long time and the salt will get to the roots of your other plants.
2nd Roundup will not kill them it takes a product like Crossbow or a mix of Crossbow and Roundup. If you do spray put a cone on your sprayer so the spray does not hit other plants. I have killed acres of them and used very little chemicals, mostly I dug them out with my bucket.
Just my 2 cents worth.
2nd Roundup will not kill them it takes a product like Crossbow or a mix of Crossbow and Roundup. If you do spray put a cone on your sprayer so the spray does not hit other plants. I have killed acres of them and used very little chemicals, mostly I dug them out with my bucket.
Just my 2 cents worth.
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GeorgiaGirl
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Toil, that's interesting -- cutting sure would be a LOT easier than the pulling I've been doing. Probably fewer wounds that way too.
tomf, I've been pulling them for 4 years and they've only gone crazier... that's why I posted this. After 4 years, I was starting to get a picture of the whole rest of my life being consumed with fighting these things as they get worse every year. The salt idea would only have been for the area directly under a landing where nothing else will grow anyway except this thicket of thorns.
Thanks again for all the advice!!
tomf, I've been pulling them for 4 years and they've only gone crazier... that's why I posted this. After 4 years, I was starting to get a picture of the whole rest of my life being consumed with fighting these things as they get worse every year. The salt idea would only have been for the area directly under a landing where nothing else will grow anyway except this thicket of thorns.
Thanks again for all the advice!!
to be clear I have never done this with brambles or berries but I have ruined other plants that way.GeorgiaGirl wrote:Toil, that's interesting -- cutting sure would be a LOT easier than the pulling I've been doing. Probably fewer wounds that way too.
!
I just figure any plant gives up eventually if it spends more than it makes.
Thus the sharp, square shovel. Ram it into the ground to the full length of its blade, severing the roots/rhizomes of the blackberries. Now, CUT with pruners the vines whose roots have just been severed.
You should now be viewing a small patch of ground with vine stubs no more than 1" tall. Use that sharp shovel to dig up the severed rhizomes. For added insurance, screen the soil that comes up with them through half-inch hardware cloth over a wheelbarrow (follow RainbowGardener's link to my successful Bermuda Grass war). Only soil which passes through the screen will be returned to the ground.
Now, *before* retiring for the day, put metal flashing into the ground where you first severed the roots. Purchase the tallest, strongest metal flashing you can afford (it usually comes in rolls). Jam it into the ground to inhibit the subterranean spread of blackberry rhizomes.
When you have the energy again, attack a contiguous patch of vines and, at the end, move the flashing.
The use of flashing is how I held back the bamboo in Berkeley. That was an interesting situation.... I didn't *want* to completely win--the bamboo was our only privacy from the cocaine-dealing apartment building immediately to the south--but the bamboo was both invasive and a fire hazard during the dry months, so it had to be controlled.
Cynthia
You should now be viewing a small patch of ground with vine stubs no more than 1" tall. Use that sharp shovel to dig up the severed rhizomes. For added insurance, screen the soil that comes up with them through half-inch hardware cloth over a wheelbarrow (follow RainbowGardener's link to my successful Bermuda Grass war). Only soil which passes through the screen will be returned to the ground.
Now, *before* retiring for the day, put metal flashing into the ground where you first severed the roots. Purchase the tallest, strongest metal flashing you can afford (it usually comes in rolls). Jam it into the ground to inhibit the subterranean spread of blackberry rhizomes.
When you have the energy again, attack a contiguous patch of vines and, at the end, move the flashing.
The use of flashing is how I held back the bamboo in Berkeley. That was an interesting situation.... I didn't *want* to completely win--the bamboo was our only privacy from the cocaine-dealing apartment building immediately to the south--but the bamboo was both invasive and a fire hazard during the dry months, so it had to be controlled.
Cynthia
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Gary350
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Blackberries do not have deep roots so they are easy to dig up. Blackberries send out runners in all directions and new plants come up from the roots. Roots are only under the soil surface a few inches. I dig my new plants up and put them in flower pots to transport to other places to be planted. It is just as easy to use the shovel to cut the plants off and let them die. Old plants can be cut off too and they die just as easy. Pulling them out of the ground by hand is too much work.GeorgiaGirl wrote:Okay... I guess I'll just keep yanking them out by hand and hope that one day they give up. They sure don't show any signs of giving up anytime soon... in fact they're getting more aggressive/invasive every year... but I'll take your word for it and keep trying!
Last edited by Gary350 on Wed May 12, 2010 7:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
cynthia_h wrote:Thus the sharp, square shovel. Ram it into the ground to the full length of its blade, severing the roots/rhizomes of the blackberries. Now, CUT with pruners the vines whose roots have just been severed.
You should now be viewing a small patch of ground with vine stubs no more than 1" tall. Use that sharp shovel to dig up the severed rhizomes. For added insurance, screen the soil that comes up with them through half-inch hardware cloth over a wheelbarrow (follow RainbowGardener's link to my successful Bermuda Grass war). Only soil which passes through the screen will be returned to the ground.
Now, *before* retiring for the day, put metal flashing into the ground where you first severed the roots. Purchase the tallest, strongest metal flashing you can afford (it usually comes in rolls). Jam it into the ground to inhibit the subterranean spread of blackberry rhizomes.
When you have the energy again, attack a contiguous patch of vines and, at the end, move the flashing.
The use of flashing is how I held back the bamboo in Berkeley. That was an interesting situation.... I didn't *want* to completely win--the bamboo was our only privacy from the cocaine-dealing apartment building immediately to the south--but the bamboo was both invasive and a fire hazard during the dry months, so it had to be controlled.
Cynthia
wow Cyn, if only berries came with a little tag that has your instructions!
I may print this out for my community garden. Against land trust rules, we put in a buttload of raspberries. On one side there is sumac, which they can strangle all they want. But the other side is the veggie area, with a fence that makes it harder to access them.
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The Helpful Gardener
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GeorgiaGirl
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Cynthia, WOW, now that is an action plan I can get on board with!! THANK YOU... I will be trying this!!
HG, all my bird feeders are well away from the house... these wild blackberries are all around the foundation. I've never let them develop into 2-year canes (so they haven't produced berries) so all these offshoots in faraway beds wouldn't be due to birds eating then redistributing new seeds.
HG, all my bird feeders are well away from the house... these wild blackberries are all around the foundation. I've never let them develop into 2-year canes (so they haven't produced berries) so all these offshoots in faraway beds wouldn't be due to birds eating then redistributing new seeds.
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The Helpful Gardener
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Got it.
Well dear, chems is NOT the answer; you CAN do this non-toxically. Lots of good advice here. I'm with Gary; you should be able to dig these, but cynthia's systematic destruction of the beasties sounds VERY effective...
I've been letting them grow where ever the birds leave them and planted a bunch of raspberries as well last season (canes just coming in great this spring) I will be keeping Cynthias advice to mind, but haven't seen as big an issue here as it seems to be West Coast and South...
HG
Well dear, chems is NOT the answer; you CAN do this non-toxically. Lots of good advice here. I'm with Gary; you should be able to dig these, but cynthia's systematic destruction of the beasties sounds VERY effective...
I've been letting them grow where ever the birds leave them and planted a bunch of raspberries as well last season (canes just coming in great this spring) I will be keeping Cynthias advice to mind, but haven't seen as big an issue here as it seems to be West Coast and South...
HG
OMG, the next time you're in northern California, just drive up Grizzly Peak or anywhere on Highway 101. Blackberries everywhere. They can propagate year-round because we don't have recurrent, regular hard freezes for weeks, let alone months, at a time.The Helpful Gardener wrote:I will be keeping Cynthias advice to mind, but haven't seen as big an issue here as it seems to be West Coast and South...
HG
The South doesn't either, as a rule.
So the blackberries just go nuts. Gardeners learn to defend themselves against the thorny vines or never see their soil again.
Cynthia
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rainbowgardener
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I am here in cold weather zone 6. I planted raspberries, which are now in their third season. This year new canes are popping up like CRAZY, next to the old ones AND in other places, even though they are not in full sun or particularly good soil. I am looking at all these raspberries popping up and wondering if I will regret having planted it!
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The Helpful Gardener
- Mod
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- Location: Colchester, CT
Some of my volunteers have been here three years already and still aren't out of hand...
It goes to show that a sense of place is a necessary tool for good garden decisions. One of the strengths of our forum is a wide geographical range, but we must nevefr forget that what works for us in Colchester or Berkeley may not be a good answer for Houston or Winnipeg...
But we'll find out what is...
HG
It goes to show that a sense of place is a necessary tool for good garden decisions. One of the strengths of our forum is a wide geographical range, but we must nevefr forget that what works for us in Colchester or Berkeley may not be a good answer for Houston or Winnipeg...
But we'll find out what is...
HG
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GeorgiaGirl
- Senior Member
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- Location: Metro Atlanta, GA (zone 7)
Well dear, chems is NOT the answer;
I know, I know... I posted in a moment of weakness and frustration. Trust me, few people are as anti-chemical as I am (I won't use chemicals in household cleaning, personal products, food, anything except when it's totally necessary like inside my car!). I appreciate being "talked down from the ledge." I was out yesterday for round 397 of the Battle of the Blackberries, and whaddaya know, I found (way behind some large shrubs) what must be two-year canes... there are tiny clusters of berries growing on them. I still hate the darn things, but I guess I'll let the berry-growing ones grow this year so they'll hopefully die afterwards. In the meantime, I am continuing my battle to eradicate all the one-year ones.
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Ozark Lady
- Greener Thumb
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- Location: NW Arkansas, USA zone 7A elevation 1561 feet
That could be how you are spreading them!
You found the source!
If birds are eating them, and then doing what birds do... they are being planted in other places.
Either remove the fruiting ones, or cover them, to be sure the birds don't spread them, or you are helping your enemy the berries, win!
Then again, how far do birds travel to eat? And then to go to the bathroom afterwards, it may not be possible to eliminate their planting them.
You found the source!
If birds are eating them, and then doing what birds do... they are being planted in other places.
Either remove the fruiting ones, or cover them, to be sure the birds don't spread them, or you are helping your enemy the berries, win!
Then again, how far do birds travel to eat? And then to go to the bathroom afterwards, it may not be possible to eliminate their planting them.
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The Helpful Gardener
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- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
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GeorgiaGirl
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 2:08 pm
- Location: Metro Atlanta, GA (zone 7)
GOOD POINT... I am having surgery tomorrow but as soon as I get home those fruiting ones are OUTA THERE!!! I have plenty of thornless canes that I've planted; I'll enjoy blackberries from those only!! (I must say I'm VERY relieved that I must have missed 2-year canes in the past and that's how they have been spreading... I was picturing a 24'-long rhizome tunneling under my driveway!!! 