The Blackberries of North America and Europe are a mighty clan of innumerable species and hybrids that have taxed the efforts of botanists to classify them. The many species in North America have furnished varieties suitable for cultivation in most of the United States except the cold, dry Great Plains region, and for the milder portions of Canada. One European species, the Cut-leaved Blackberry, Rubus laciniatus, has run wild on the Pacific Coast where it is cultivated.
Blackberry growing began in the eastern United States about 1850, when wild selections were brought into cultivation. Blackberries are not grown much now in the East, but Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas have substantial acreages in commercial production.
Ripe Blackberries are a delicious fruit and provide home-grown berries after the Raspberries have finished. If plants of good varieties, true to name, are planted and the Tarnished Plant Bug is controlled, Blackberries may be grown successfully on suitable soils in many parts of North America. The erect, or bush type Blackberries are discussed here first; the trailing varieties are treated separately at the end of this presentation under a special heading.
Blackberries are less hardy than Raspberries, but the hardier varieties may be grown in the milder portions of the northern United States and Canada. Southward there are varieties suitable for the milder climate and the long hot summers. Winter injury of the Blackberry is chiefly from severe cold, rather than from the breaking of dormancy in mild weather, which causes so much late winter or spring-killing of Raspberries.
The site should be protected from the prevailing winds which dry out the canes in winter, a factor in winterkilling. Winds also dry out the
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