Blackberries usually have deep black fruits, which can be harvested continuously from the long tendrils during the harvest season from around the end of July to October. On the other hand, if the fruits of blackberries are red, this can have various causes.

The color as an indicator of maturity

If this is your first time planting blackberries in your garden, you may be surprised to see unripe red-hued fruit right next to the jet black blackberries, ready to be picked. It is quite normal with blackberries for the ripe fruits to hang on a tendril next to even smaller and unripe fruits. This makes blackberries a fruit from which ripe fruit can be harvested continuously. As a rule, fruits that are still red only need a few days until they have reached their black ripeness with sufficient sunlight and warmth.

Red spots on the blackberries

If only certain parts of the already black blackberry fruits remain red, caution is advised. In this case there is a high probability of an infestation with the dreaded blackberry gall mite. These animals, which are difficult to recognize with the human eye, suck the juice from individual parts of the blackberry, which is a collective drupe made up of many individual fruits. As a result, the individual fruits affected in this way are disturbed in their development and remain red. Infested fruits should be removed, and the following countermeasures are also useful:

  • a strong pruning of the tendrils in the fall
  • the removal of all fruit mummies on the brambles
  • spraying the young shoots with rapeseed oil in the spring

These measures can help control blackberry gall mite infestations without chemically stressing the fruit.

Red blackberry varieties in the garden

Nowadays, thanks to special breeds, there are not only black blackberry varieties, but also red varieties. The Dorman Red variety produces plump, red blackberry fruits that look a bit like raspberries. Nevertheless, this berry variety belongs to the blackberries, which is why it also needs the same care as black blackberry varieties.

tips and tricks

It can be optically appealing to place black and red fruiting blackberries alternately on a trellis. In addition, the different fruit colors also provide visual appeal when processed in the kitchen.

Category:

Vegetable garden