Orangerose (orangerose@aol.com) wrote: : : >In both cases, native blackberrys, you can train them any way you want, : >thorns : >will detur the dogs, grow very fast and they produce wonderfull fruit. : > : : Blackberries, AFAIK, are not native to the American continent. Himalayan : blackberries, the most commonly seen blackberries growing wild in the west, : were introduced by European settlers. They are indeed very easy to grow. In : fact, they are a major pest plant where I live. (northern CA)
Around here (Seattle area) there are three major species of blackberries
that grow wild. One is the Himalayan, which is going bananas in my next
door neighbor's yard -- yes, a major pest. It's just starting to fruit
right now. The second is the European, which has much spikier leaves and
the fruit matures later and is a little more shade-oriented, and a hair
less invasive. Finally, there's the native blackberry, which grows on a
thin runner (not like a cane, like the exotics) and is much more
shade-loving than the other two. It fruits maybe around early July
(depending on elevation) and is considered much more prized for its fruit.
It is certainly possible that the native one doesn't grow in northern CA,
so you don't know about it. It's also possible I'm wrong.
Is there a real expert out there who wants to comment?