In Europe alone there are more than 2,000 different types of blackberries. For garden lovers, the distinction between the wild varieties and the cultivated varieties for the garden is particularly interesting.

Wild bramble vines and high-yielding cultivars

Wild blackberries can sometimes spread unhindered in forest clearings and on undeveloped embankments. With their extremely resistant blackberry roots, they often cause a lot of work for the owners of gardens near the forest. While the small fruits of the wild blackberry varieties are appreciated for their special aroma, cultivated varieties in the garden and on the balcony offer larger fruits and better controllability. Blackberries for the garden usually do not multiply as much as their wild relatives, and many varieties no longer have any thorns due to breeding efforts.

Varieties with and without thorns

The Theodor Reimers variety is one of the cultivated varieties that still have thorns today. Despite this, this variety is very popular with gardeners, as it has little disease susceptibility and high yields in most locations. However, many modern and very common blackberry varieties no longer have any thorns, including varieties such as:

  • Navaho
  • Loch Ness
  • Thornless Evergreen

If you don't want to spoil your children's enjoyment of the blackberry harvest in the garden, you should preferably use varieties without thorns.

Upright growing and strong climbing varieties

Especially when growing blackberries on the balcony, you should choose blackberry cultivars that tend to grow upright and are easy to control in their growth. The Navaho variety and its sub-varieties grow upright and space-saving with a trellis. Other varieties such as Black Satin and Asterina, on the other hand, form long tendrils, for which a trellis should ideally be set up.

Crossbreeds with raspberries

There are now not only black blackberries on the market, but also red-fruited variants. These are large-fruited crosses between blackberries and raspberries, which are usually sold under the name "Taybeere".

tips and tricks

A combination of early, mid-early and late blackberry varieties in your own garden is a good way to extend the harvest time accordingly.

Category:

Vegetable garden