Black raspberries are one of the most popular and delicious fruits known to man. You know them, you love them, so I won’t try to sell you on them here.
Instead I’ll share a couple cool ideas and a variety description.
1) Black raspberries like to walk around by sending out canes which bend over and root into the ground, forming a new plant. Allowing black raspberries to move in this way keep the plant healthy and invigorated. Mint is very similar in this need to keep moving and spreading.
In contrast, for commercial operations black raspberries are grown on trellises, which means the canes are keep upright for easy of harvesting, and not allowed to spread and form new roots. Because of these systems, commercial black raspberry plantings have a finite life. A single set of black raspberry roots only stays healthy for so long, if you are lucky you get 5-7 years.
The key to keeping a black raspberry patch healthy is allowing it to spread.
2) Black raspberries are fairly shade tolerant. They love the dappled shade of a spread out orchard, as the assist it in transitioning back to a fully canopied forest. So consider black raspberries in places where the red raspberry patch doesn’t thrive.
3) Generally, black raspberries are considered to be tolerant of black walnut trees. Consider black raspberries in areas where black walnut trees have enough influence that other fruits struggle to grow (paw paws are another solid choice)
Varieties for sale this year:
Mac Black: good yields of medium sized berries with great flavor, which ripen later than the average black raspberry, extending the season. Generally considered to be zone 5-8 hardy, however some report success in zone 3! These are floricane type, which means you get fruit from a new cane in its second year.
