Loganberries and hybrid berries
There is a whole list of 'cane fruit' which have been bred over the years by crossing scrambling, climbing berries like blackberries and Rubus ursinus, an American species of blackberry, with the familiar raspberry. All have long wangly shoots like blackberries, and need to be properly supported and given sufficient space on the allotment. However, their fruit is some of the best tasting of anything you can grow, so is well worth the effort.
'Hybrid berries' mostly do very well on local heavy clay soils, and their sturdy roots are better at seeking out water deep down than blackberries. If you are on a site with heavy clay, or dislike watering, it may be better to plant a loganberry or tayberry insteads of a row of raspberries.
The space you need to allow varies from variety to variety, but 10ft of row is pretty much a bare minimum for many types. You will need sturdy stakes equipped with a framework of horizontal wires to which you will tie the shoots when training them. Setting this up is not much work, and the framework is, if anything, simpler than that needed to support raspberries. It can form an attractive divider within the plot or a screen in front of compost heaps. As the framework will be permanent, you can lay down hard paths either side to make picking more comfortable. It is a good idea when setting up the frame to remember that you will probably need to net the plant against birds, so wooden cross-pieces you can drape a net over are a good design idea.
'Hybrid berries' mostly do very well on local heavy clay soils, and their sturdy roots are better at seeking out water deep down than blackberries. If you are on a site with heavy clay, or dislike watering, it may be better to plant a loganberry or tayberry insteads of a row of raspberries.
The space you need to allow varies from variety to variety, but 10ft of row is pretty much a bare minimum for many types. You will need sturdy stakes equipped with a framework of horizontal wires to which you will tie the shoots when training them. Setting this up is not much work, and the framework is, if anything, simpler than that needed to support raspberries. It can form an attractive divider within the plot or a screen in front of compost heaps. As the framework will be permanent, you can lay down hard paths either side to make picking more comfortable. It is a good idea when setting up the frame to remember that you will probably need to net the plant against birds, so wooden cross-pieces you can drape a net over are a good design idea.
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Training loganberries and their cousins is easy if done correctly, a nightmare if you don't know what you're doing. Click on the picture (left) to go to the RHS page with their page with excellent, clear descriptions of how to do it.
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New varieties of hybrid berry are being bred all the time, but here are some notes on those you will find available. The easy-to-get ones first!
Blackberry - the usual one grown is 'Oregon Thornless', which is very handsome; but don't expect as much flavour as wild blackberries! Very vigorous and will require a large frame.
Loganberry - excellent flavour but very 'sharp', or acid. Makes a splendid jam and ideal for including in all fruity puddings. Freezes well. A thornless variety is available and the flavour is pretty much as good as the thorny ones.
Tayberry - larger, sweeter fruit than the loganberry, on a relatively compact plant - a good choice especially if you have limited space. A thornless variety, 'Buckingham', is available, but 'Medana' has better flavour.
The following are less common, and you are most unlikely to find them at the garden centre, so do an on-line search and use only the most reputable suppliers.
Boysenberry - like a large, richly-flavoured blackberry. One of the most drought-tolerant types. Thornless varieties are available.
Tummelberry - similar to tayberry, fruiting in flushes from mid-June to mid-August. Fairly compact, comparatively speaking.
Veitchberry - Compact, only spreading to 6ft across and high. Sweet, blackberry-like flavour.
Marionberry - a cultivar of blackberry, not a cross. Widely grown in the US but with an 'earthy' flavour that not everyone will like.
Silvanberry - very vigorous and thorny, this is perhaps a poor choice even though the blackberry-like flavour of the berries is said to be pleasantly sweet.
Hildaberry - a new type from crossing a tayberry with a boysenberry! Black berries with a rich, complex flavour. Vigorous, needing at least 10ft of space.
Blackberry - the usual one grown is 'Oregon Thornless', which is very handsome; but don't expect as much flavour as wild blackberries! Very vigorous and will require a large frame.
Loganberry - excellent flavour but very 'sharp', or acid. Makes a splendid jam and ideal for including in all fruity puddings. Freezes well. A thornless variety is available and the flavour is pretty much as good as the thorny ones.
Tayberry - larger, sweeter fruit than the loganberry, on a relatively compact plant - a good choice especially if you have limited space. A thornless variety, 'Buckingham', is available, but 'Medana' has better flavour.
The following are less common, and you are most unlikely to find them at the garden centre, so do an on-line search and use only the most reputable suppliers.
Boysenberry - like a large, richly-flavoured blackberry. One of the most drought-tolerant types. Thornless varieties are available.
Tummelberry - similar to tayberry, fruiting in flushes from mid-June to mid-August. Fairly compact, comparatively speaking.
Veitchberry - Compact, only spreading to 6ft across and high. Sweet, blackberry-like flavour.
Marionberry - a cultivar of blackberry, not a cross. Widely grown in the US but with an 'earthy' flavour that not everyone will like.
Silvanberry - very vigorous and thorny, this is perhaps a poor choice even though the blackberry-like flavour of the berries is said to be pleasantly sweet.
Hildaberry - a new type from crossing a tayberry with a boysenberry! Black berries with a rich, complex flavour. Vigorous, needing at least 10ft of space.
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A range of the better-known hybrid berries is available from top-quality established supplier R V Roger, whose nursery in the Vale of York has been supplying gardeners since 1913. Left - click on the pic to go to their loganberry page, or click on the name above for the home page. R V Roger are a good source for fruit bushes of all sorts, stocking an especially impressive range of gooseberries!
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PROPAGATING HYBRID BERRIES could not be easier, so if you know someone who has one you like, get them to root a plant for you. Because all these berries have some blackberry blood, they are child's play to propagate. All that is necessary is to pin the end of a shoot into the ground, and at the end of the season it will have rooted and made a new plant. It will take a couple of years to get to cropping size, but growth is quicker and more vigorous than you'd expect, and you will be sure of getting the right plant even if the owner has long forgotten the name!
