My berry patch

ommthree

Hi all,

I have inherited a patch with various berries in it. I've asked for some help identifying one of them on another thread. But mostly they are blackberries and raspberries.

My issue is that the canes are spreading - which is a good thing, as I'm happy to have more berries - but I'd like to have some control over how many raspberries versus blackberries. I'm struggling with the new canes from the ground to tell which is which. Are there any tricks, or do I just have to wait till next year and look at the fruit?

Many thanks!

Sue Bestwick

With rasps cut out all the stems that have fruited they are brown. if they haven't fruited yet you wait till spring then cut all back to ground level and they shoot up. Blackberries put up new growth as thicker slightly squarer stems with larger greener leaves easiest way is to compare a deffinate rasp leaf (where you can see fruit) to a blackberry leaf they are significantly different. rasps also have spiky hairs the whole length of the stem blackberries have thorns  unless it's a thornless blackberry in which case it is easy to spot 

ommthree

Sue Bestwick said:

With rasps cut out all the stems that have fruited they are brown. if they haven't fruited yet you wait till spring then cut all back to ground level and they shoot up. Blackberries put up new growth as thicker slightly squarer stems with larger greener leaves easiest way is to compare a deffinate rasp leaf (where you can see fruit) to a blackberry leaf they are significantly different. rasps also have spiky hairs the whole length of the stem blackberries have thorns  unless it's a thornless blackberry in which case it is easy to spot 

Thanks Sue. 

Guess what: it's thornless! How did I not spot that!

Thanks again!