We've had a week of pretty frosty nights, so in another week I'll begin taking cuttings from our Triple Crown vineyard. 


 


   I've had quite a few members contact me for cuttings that I feel were very sincere in their desire to propagate this berry, and those will be the first packages to be sent out.

   I received a bit of wisdom though, from a long-time forum member with a very large and diverse orchard...  his counsel to me was that the cuttings that he has received for free over the last three years or so, have ended up rotting in his refrigerator before he did anything with them.  (Just no skin in the game)

  So, just to make me feel that the work involved in preparing and shipping these out isn't being wasted, I'm going to ask for at least a little investment in the process.  PM me with your shipping address and the number of cuttings that you can use.   Then, either include in your message a forwarded copy of a donation receipt from the Wounded Warrior Project, or I will send you a PayPal address to send $5 to offset the cost of packaging and shipping.

  ...And, from our family to yours:    Merry Christmas!


                 Blue

Seems very reasonable Blue. I've never tried to root blackberry cuttings. I would assume it's a similar process to figs.

Good for you bluemalibu! A worthy cause. And good for us to be invested in what we desire...

  Yes, AD-...    the same process, but about ten times easier to set roots.   These are a semi-erect cultivar; the vines grow to about eight feet and then arch back over to the ground.  Any place that the vines contact the soil, they will re-root.    Likewise, the cuttings have about 95% success or better, in most any type of moist media.

   And, thanks Jodi...   I've received a lot of mentoring from the members here, myself.  It's nice to join their ranks in giving back.
   
   Blue

I never,gad luck rooting blackberries cuttings. Any advice before i get some ?

  Richie, just keep the humidity up and they will thrive.  Again, the same procedure that works with figs will work here. 

  Without a cloner, I'd mix a 50/50 blend of coconut coir and perlite, or use Pro Mix, moistened, and place the cuttings about 75% into the mix.

  Mist the tops twice a day, and keep a hood or plastic wrap over the tray.  In the winter I place it near the wood-stove to maintain about 80*.  They will grow like weeds.

      Blue

Thanks.

If you haven't yet, you should get some Prime Ark Freedom, the latest. from U of A.  It's an erect, primocane fruiting thornless.  Mine were new in spring, just a few inches tall, grew like mad and fruited this fall all the way up to frost and will fruit again in spring and next fall and so on and so forth. 

I like Triple Crown.  It grows like mad and has good berries. Years ago I grew it beside Doyle Thornless as a comparison.  TC had as many and much better, much larger berries and grew just as much as Doyle.    

   Thanks for the heads-up Charlie.

    I just looked into the cultivar and have plants inbound now.   What I gathered from the University's reports, they were able to keep much of the intense flavor that TC delivers while adding the primocane fruiting.  Not too shabby.  

   Blue

It was rooting triple crown single nodes some years ago that gave me the initial thought to try figs.  Many of them took but I lacked the way to keep them alive through the winter.

 

Is rooting this variety different from other cane berries? I was under the impression all cane berries root by sticking the end of a plant into a pot of soil. I have done this for raspberries, olallies, and boysenberries.

Sad to say all my berries are still at my old community garden plot (i hope) and the ones I did take with me never made it, it got too hot before I could get them in the ground.

Do you think a 15 gallon pot will be OK for a bush?

Question: With primocanes, do you prune them down each year or just cut out the 3rd year stalks? 

      Charlie - I received these in 1997 from a friend that lived next to the USDA initial testing location there in AR.   He would cut the spent florocanes off and then bend the primocanes over and cover them in mulch after they went dormant and before the heavy freeze.  He was successful using this method for many years.  Worth a try...



       Jen -   Nope, no difference.  They are likewise easily rooted via cuttings as well.

      

      Amber -  A fifteen gal is more than ample.  You could start 6 to 8 plants in it and have enough berries for preserves.


     
        Rick -  The primocane fruiting cultivars will fruit on both the first and second year canes.  The first in fall and the second in late spring.  This is from the Prime Ark Freedom cultivars, which only grow to about 5', vs.    the Triple Crown which grow over twelve:  "When the new shoots of erect blackberries reach thirty to thirty-six inches in height, cut off the tips. This will force branching lower on the canes and will cause the canes to thicken, making them better able to support a heavy fruit crop. During the winter, prune the laterals to twelve to fourteen inches for convenient harvesting and larger berries. In late winter, remove any remaining dead or weak wood. Leave healthy, vigorous canes spaced at six canes per linear foot."

Don't forget that with the primocane cultivars you always retain the option of mowing them down over the winter. You lose the spring crop (which is usually about 2x larger than the fall crop), but if you're having disease or insect problems it's an easy way to throw the reset switch and start over.

I grow blackberries. I usually tip root them. I threw away numerous plants this fall that tip rooted on their own. It's a fight to keep them under control. I never tried rooting cuttings. Triple Crown is OK but I prefer the Raspberry-blackberry hybrids. Currently I have
Triple Crown
Chester
Siskiyou
Columbia Star
Lochness
Boysenberry
wyeberry
Black Diamond
Tayberry
Marion Berry
Darrow
Navaho
New Berry
Burbank's White
Nettleton's Creamy White

I also have raspberries (over 15 different cultivars), honeyberries, blueberries, currants, cherry trees, peach trees, nectarines, plums, pluots, strawberries, and gooseberries.

  Thanks for the insight, Scott!



  Drew...   Holy Moly!!!   With a selection like that, you could start your own Berry-Mead micro brewery! 

@ Bluemalibu, how often do you prune your triple crown?  Some say prune when stalks get about 4-5 foot tall and then prune laterals during dormancy, what do you say?

  Tenn-  I will never claim to be a horticulturalist...  I think that a lot of my plants are plain thriving in spite of me, sometimes.   For the last eighteen years, I have only removed spent floricane from my vineyard.  The cane here are supported by a 4' trellis.  Whereas some cane fruit require tipping to thicken and strengthen the cane in order to support the fruit, these Triple Crown have grown cane over 1" gauge naturally.  They will grow over 12' here in a season.  I let them gain all of the height that they can.  At 8' they are bending back down towards the earth, and the tips reach the soil again by the following spring.  I am over 6', and can pick the berries at their 8' arched height.   Others may find this too cumbersome, and pruning at a comfortable height for them will then encourage branching.  Likewise, by pruning the laterals to about 15 inches, you will produce the larger berries as seen in the first post.  I do not prune the laterals while dormant though, but rather wait until just before buds begin to swell to better determine which laterals have survived the cold.  In this way you are not performing a task twice, a task which, for me can take me a week.   Any winter-kill branches are removed completely as the balance are pruned to 15".  A little twist to the carpenter's "measure twice, cut once".
 
  Smiles,   Blue

That's good advice Blue on pruning. I myself prune them down as space is at a premium here. So I keep them smaller. I spray mine with wilt stop in the winter to help them get through it and I prefer to prune laterals before I spray. If all goes well, I will have little dieback. I also spray my figs. The product has worked well for me, although a few more years I can judge better how well the product is working or not.

@ Blue, thanks for your feedback.  I appreciate it when people who are actively growing take the time to give their insights.  Everyone has their own way so to speak at getting the job done.  I personally am looking for the best way for highest yields.  I like your idea of just letting them grow.  I wonder what the difference is in production opposed to pruning...  Thanks for the info on rooting blackberry cuttings as well.