Blackberry plant

elliep_2

Loch Ness is sounding good then if it's a plentiful fruiter and thornless.

DH isn't being mean about it. He probably would let me plant a thorny variety if I REALLY wanted it but he can't understand wanting to plant something spikey in the garden and is worried for the safety of our future children.

If there are good thornless varieties available then I'll pay my money and buy one that won't cause friction, not sure that I would want to just dig up a bit from the wild anyway!

Barneysmom

I got mine from Aldi a couple of years ago, £1.00, they're great big blackberries. I just hope the birds leave them alone this year. :cool:

Lotus-eater

Bosenberries and tayberries are hybrid versions of the wild blackberry, crossed with raspberries and a loganberry in the case of the bosenberry IIRC.
It does always seem a shame to me to grow blackberries in the garden when they are so widely available in the countryside, but if as you say, you haven't access to some then it makes it better. Not sure where you live, but I would have guessed that no one in the country lived no more than ten minutes walk from blackberries.

Bosenberries taste gorgeous and tayberries only slightly behind IMO, both grow in the same way as blackberries. Loganberries are another alternative.

elliep_2

I'll look into the hybrid varieties. I've bought some raspberries this year (my favourite) but I do love blackberries though you're right, it's not far (in the car) to be able to pick wild ones. I'm used to having them closer but I can still get to them without too much trouble. The problem is knowing when to go, when I used to walk past the bramble hedges every couple of days I knew exactly when they were ready!

I want to grow something else alongside my raspberries so I'll have a look online and visit the garden centre or just see what I can get cheap in lidl or aldi and give that a go.

Lotus-eater

They all grow quite big in my experience, tayberries the least, the canes will grow to about 3 metres long, so make sure you have got the space.

What amazes me is the quality and taste difference in wild blackberries. We have a set of blackberries right behind us that produce the biggest glossiest fruit you have ever seen, but they taste totally bland, a fifteen minute walk and that's where I have got my favourite patch, not huge but lovely tasting.

edit, not sure why I said 3 metres, more like 5 or 6 metres, although you can cut them back.

ixwood

Just happened across these if you're interested:

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/Index.cfm?fuseaction=product.standard&continueaction=category.standard&category_id=470&producttype_id=48044

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/Index.cfm?fuseaction=product.standard&producttype_id=48045