Brambles in the Home Fruit Planting

Brambles are, in some ways, the perfect home garden plant. They require little more than a patch of full sun and some well-drained soil. In the past, having sufficient space was sometimes a limiting factor, but now new compact cultivars are available that can be grown even in containers.

Bramble plants belong to the genus Rubus and have perennial roots with shoots that are biennial. In older commercial varieties and most plants in nature, the shoots (called "canes") grow vegetatively during their first growing season. These first-year shoots are called "primocanes". They then go dormant for the winter and produce fruit during the following summer, now being called "floricanes". Once the canes produce fruit, they die. These types of plants are often referred to as "summer-bearers".

However, many varieties of red raspberries, black raspberries, and blackberries have been developed that produce fruit starting at the tips of primocanes once they reach their full height. Fruiting continues down the cane as long as temperatures allow. These varieties may be known as "primocane-fruiters" or "fall-bearers". If canes are mowed to the ground each winter, only a later-season crop will be obtained. Canes may be kept for a second year, however, and fruiting will resume on lower portions of the cane. For this reason, this type of plant may also be called an "everbearer".

Both thorny and thornless varieties of each bramble type are available. Growth habit (and hence cultural practices), further varies among different brambles.

Red Raspberries

Red raspberries produce new canes (suckers) primarily from the root system. Thus, they eventually fill in rows as a solid hedgerow, or will expand into a circular patch if not kept in check. They are the most winter-hardy of the raspberries, though just how much cold they can tolerate varies with variety and stage of dormancy. Typically, they are hardy to -10 degrees F or lower during winter. In Pennsylvania, summer-bearing red raspberries bear their fruit from late June to early August. Some early-season primocane-fruiting varieties, such as 'Polka', start producing fruit on first-year canes as early as mid-July in warmer parts of the state, but the main season is late August through fall. With later season primocane-fruiting varieties such as 'Heritage' or 'Anne', only a small portion of the potential fall crop may be able to mature before frost, especially in cooler parts of the state.

Black Raspberries

Black raspberries initiate new canes from the crown of the plant rather than from root suckers. Because of this, each plant is grown independently, with pruning and maintenance done on a per-plant basis. Unlike red raspberries, they require summer tipping at about a 3-foot height, or up to 5 feet if a trellis is used, because otherwise canes will grow very long, arch over, and root into the ground. Tipping will also encourage the formation of lateral shoots on each cane which increases the amount of fruit produced. Black raspberries are available mainly as summer-bearers that produce their fruit in late June through July, though a limited number of primocane-fruiting varieties are now on the market. Black raspberries are slightly more winter-tender than red raspberries.

Purple Raspberries

Purple raspberries are the result of crossing red raspberries with black raspberries. Choices are limited to a couple of floricane-fruiting varieties.

Blackberries

Depending on the variety, blackberries may produce new shoots from the roots, the crown area, or both. Many thorny and thornless varieties of blackberries are available. Thornless types are more cold sensitive than other brambles, and are best grown in the southern or warmer portions of Pennsylvania. Injury often occurs during periods of fluctuating temperatures, rather than during the depth of winter when the plants are fully dormant. Canes may be very stocky and upright, or thinner and somewhat trailing. Regardless of growth habit, because of vigorous growth, trellising is recommended. Primocane-fruiting varieties of both thorny and thornless blackberries tend to mature their fruit very late, and thus you should try them with caution until you know how they will perform in your location.

Other Brambles

Other brambles, most of which are either hybrids among Rubus species or specific varieties of blackberry, such as Tayberry, Boysenberry, Loganberry, Marionberry, and Ollalaberry, are grown mostly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. They have excellent fruit quality but are not well adapted to environmental conditions in Pennsylvania and should be tried in small quantities. Their most limiting characteristic is their cold-tenderness.

Wineberry is an invasive species that should not be planted.