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View Full Version : Blackberry bush help needed


leiloshka
05-02-2010, 03:16 PM
I planted three blackberry bushes last year and for the second time they have bloomed and then it seems overnight, the blooms have dried up and some leaves and limbs look brown as well. I don't know what the problem is. Is it too much water? Not enough?

This time it rained quite a bit and after the rain the blooms looked good. Then a couple days later, overnight it seemed, the blooms appeared dried up looking and the ones that were open had no berries forming.

I believe they are Navaho Thornless. I live in Texas south of Ft. Worth with terrible clay soils. I wanted to attach a photo of the plant location and a closeup. (I don't know how to do this.)

This is my second year for the garden too and I had the soil tested (it had very low fertility) and added a lot of amendments. I've started a compost pile and am trying to talk the hubby into chickens (for the chicken litter to add to the compost pile) and bees (for extra pollination).

I didn't know if maybe I should dig up the grass (Bermuda) between the blackberry plants and mulch it like I'm doing the garden.

It's so disappointing. I love blackberries and want to add more plants, maybe three more?

I also have wild blackberries in the bushes around the house. These produce berries but they are extremely small or not developed well. They seem more of a hassle than they are worth since they get in the flowers, etc. and make it hard to weed.

Thank you!!

NCLee
05-03-2010, 05:04 AM
If the wild ones are blooming at the same time as yours, check the conditon of the wild ones. There may be some weather condition that's doing them in. Some years, here, we lose them due to late frost. Sometimes there's not enough rain. We had 2 years in a row where the frost got them. A severe drough didn't help either.

I wish I could be of more help. Since I'm living on the east coast, our situation here is probably much different from yours. Hopefully, someone else will come along with more advice.

Lee

Terri
05-03-2010, 12:37 PM
Are there spots on the leaves? Sometimes a fungus disease will hurt them.

I am in Kansas. Local info will probably be the most accurate.

TEX
05-03-2010, 12:43 PM
Could a mole or gopher be eating at the roots?

bookwormom
05-09-2010, 09:28 AM
you could ask your county agent, see if they know what it is.