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Gary350
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Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Blackberry Raspberry, Blue Berry, Strawberry.

All the Blackberry & Raspberry plants I have bought in the past several years turned out to be 30 ft long vine plants. Vines are too much trouble to deal with. I want real plants with canes.

I saw hybrid berry plants in the store today but I am afraid to buy anymore I don't want plants that grow like watermelons. Does anyone know of a plant that does not grow like a vine?

Tractor supply store has hybrid berry plants with no name, it only says, Hybrid Blackberry, Hybrid Raspberry. It does not say if it is Red or Black Raspberry?

I need more of what I already have, TN Cumberland Black Raspberry but it will take 5 years for my 1 plant to get large enough to make 5 gallons of berries. I need to buy about 20 plants.


I want to grow Blueberry plants too I hope they don't grow like watermelon vines too.


I am also interested in growing strawberries if it is worth the garden space & work?

JONA
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Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

Hi Gary.
Raspberries should grow on canes, not vines.
There are two sorts of raspberries. Autumn and Florine.
The autumn plants crop on canes that grow in the same year with a steady cropping that starts in mid summer and continues until the first frosts.
Pruning can be as simple as cutting the canes down to ground level at the fall.
So training is just a string or wire to just keep the canes neat while they are cropping.
The other rasp type are the ‘ normal ‘ ones. These crop on canes grown the previous year. These need a good support wire to tie the canes to ready for cropping the following year.
The easiest way of dealing with these is to run two wires around four feet high either side of your row of canes.
As they grow tie the canes to the wires.
The following year these canes will crop in one big flush. As the crop they will continue to produce new canes. These can safely grow up between the wires out of the way of the cropping canes and feet!
In the fall the old Cane is cut out and the new can then be tied to the wires. Thinning out any thin canes and leaving nice strong ones for the next year.


Blackberries, Tayberries etc are the real ‘ runners ‘ and can be the very devil to control.
The best way I know is .....
A central stake....around six foot high. Plant to this stake.
Two stakes, one either side of the planting stake...some six foot or so from the central stake.
Three wires between the stakes. One at two foot up. One at four foot and one at the top of the stakes.
On the first year as the canes grow tie four canes to the two top wires...one to each.
The following year these canes should crop.
As they crop the plants will send out new canes... tie four of these to the bottom wires. Out of the way of the cropping canes and trampling feet.
Remove any other growing canes so all the energy goes into these canes.
At the end of the year it’s a simple job to cut the cropping canes off and move the new canes up to the top wires and tie them in.


As regards blueberries.....they grow on a bush.

Hope that helps.

PaulF
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Posts: 910
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:34 pm
Location: Brownville, Ne

I have not heard of raspberries or blackberries vining like yours. My recent purchases of both have been through Stark Bros in Louisiana , Missouri (https://www.starkbros.com). They have several thornless blackberries and lots of other berry plants. I have purchased from them for many years and never had a problem. I think Arapahoe was the variety name for the blackberries. I don't remember the variety names of the black or red raspberries.

All my raspberries and blackberries have canes and do tend to run. Mine are put up against an eight foot hog panel for support. They need to be cut back yearly. I have also done the support like John described. Both are fine. Blueberries are large bushes as John said.



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