Blackcap Raspberry

Rubus leucodermis
Also known as whitebark raspberry, blue raspberry

$5.00

In stock

Description

Blackcap raspberries are incredibly sweet, soft, juicy and delicious! They have a beautiful, strong raspberry flavor with just the right amount of acid. This is the wild form of blackcap raspberries (Rubus leucodermis) local to our Southern Oregon region. Unlike the eastern blackcap (R. occidentalis), our native blackcap raspberry is adapted to hot, dry summers.

This wild form of black cap raspberries produce abundant amounts of delicious berries as you may expect from domesticated varieties. They are well suited for growing in gardens because they are vigorous, disease resistant and their berries are plentiful and delicious. Furthermore, growing berries from seed insures a higher level genetic diversity which is more lacking when growing common cloned varieties.

Blackcap raspberries are sometimes referred to as whitebark raspberries because their first year canes are a very light green blue, almost white color. I find the color striking and beautiful!

The plants are very drought tolerant and can handle fairly dry conditions, but given good soil and ample water in your garden they will produce fat canes and lots of berries.

The large thorns can be, well thorny, so be sure to wear gloves when trellising or pruning the canes. But the thorns serve as a valuable defense in the wild and blackcap raspberries are very deer resistant. While deer may and will eat some berries and tender growing tips and leaves if they are hungry enough, an established blackcap raspberry plant is not going to be damaged by deer. Planting blackcap raspberries outside of the deer fence may be attractive to some gardeners.

Details

Lifecycle: Perennial (roots are perennial, canes are biennial)
Lifespan: 5-10+ years
Hardiness zones: 5-9 (USDA)
Habitats: Forest edges, roadsides and clearings in pacific northwest mountains
Plant size: 3 ft wide x 8 ft tall
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: All soil types, well draining
Water: Prefers moist soils, very drought tolerant but dry soils limit fruit & growth
Seeds per packet: 25+ seeds

Seed Starting

Blackcap raspberry seeds require 90 days moist cold stratification. Since they are relatively small, cover the seeds with 1/8-1/2 inch soil and keep moist until they germinate in warm weather.

Cultivation

While blackcap raspberry plants are perennials, second year canes will die after bearing fruit and need to be pruned out to encourage airflow and space for new canes. In the wild those dead canes tend to stack up and create a dead, airy, thorny structure for bearing canes to rest upon. Those thorny bushes form a brambly habitat for birds and small mammals but can make harvesting berries a bit trickier. So when planting in the garden, pruning is advised.

Harvest

Harvest the berries when they are dark purple, near black color, soft and sweet. You can pick them a bit earlier if you like for a firmer berry, especially if you want it to last on the counter or fridge a bit longer. Very ripe, soft berries will be the first to spoil – so eat them or preserve them quick

Propagation

Blackcap raspberries grow fruit on second year canes and are clumping habit, with new canes spreading from the central base very slowly. However blackcap raspberry first year canes can easily be tip layered to grow new plants, simply by bending over the cane and just burying the growing tip and holding it down with a rock or brick. In the next season, remove the rock and you’ll have a new raspberry plant started!

Seed Saving

Wet process the berries and seeds with fermentation, decant the seeds then plant to overwinter (cold stratify) the fresh moist seeds immediately for best germination.

Additional information

Weight0.007 lbs
Dimensions4.5 × 3.25 × .05 in

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