Brambles

[Smurfy]

We have recently cleared out behind the shed whcih had obviously been a dumping ground for the previous owners of the house. Lots of old hoovers etc anyway it was also a great place for brambles and they thrived. i've been cutting them back like a good un trying to get rid.

However i'm also in the process of developing a fruit bed where i would like to grow brambles but am now worried about whether they'll take over. Are the brambles you see rambling through hedges the same type as those you grow in your garden or are they different?

[peter]

Same species, highly variable in the wild

"Domestic" varieties are typically thornless with berries at the larger end of the size range

[Smurfy]

Thanks peter and excuse my ignorance.

[peter]

Enquiring is NOT ignorance it is self-education, so please don't apologise, it is grist to the mill of this forum. Glad to be of hhelp and you may get some good advice as to a suitable variety, he says hopefully..... as I have no experience of domestic, I use the wild & prickly to protect my allotment site whilst getting a benefit.

[Nature's Babe]

Smurfy, a sensible question. I have had cultivated blackberries for several years, with no problems, the trick is to tie the current years canes to a support, but if you wish to make another plant then layer the tip of the cane into soil and it will root, then you can cut a new plant free from the parent cane. Don't look for fruit in your first year, the cane grows in the first year and fruits in the second year, mine now sends up several canes and we had a lovely crop this year its thornless and fruit are large.
Usually folk train the canes first one side then the other, so one side will be fruiting the other side is trained in to fruit the following year.

[John]

Hello Smurfy
They are indeed all different varieties of the same species. The cultivated varieties are usually thornless and have larger berries. To my mind they often lack the true flavour of the wild blackberry though. Wild brambles vary a lot and if you want to cultivated them it would be well worth searching long and hard in the hedgerows for a good wild variety to grow from.

John

[peter]

Very true John, I have one that's barely managed 5' in six years and one the throws huge ribbed 12'+ shoots every year, the fruits pretty much match the shoot vigour, certainly for quantity, slightly less so for size although still easy to tell apart.

[Smurfy]

Great stuff - i love the fact that things grow differently from place to place. None of this uniformity like you see in the supermarkets.

Thanks for all your replies.

[Nature's Babe]

Sweetness is also dependent on enough sunshine Smurfy, lots of wet cloudy days and the fruit will be sharp,ok for pies or jam though, lots of sunny days and they are sweet, so plant on a sunny fence if you want sweetness. I mulch on top to protect the the roots in winter and compost / organic fertiliser in spring. Like Peter, I get massive strong canes and they are very productive.

[Stephen]

Domesticated varieties have changed a lot from my youth. We had the variety Himalayan Giant in the garden and it had not just the tough, substantial canes described but Himalayan size thorns too!