[geeks] Greenery and brambles...

[Mike Hebel]

Greg A. Woods wrote:
> [ On Monday, October 28, 2002 at 13:15:29 (-0600), Mike Hebel wrote: ]
> 
>>Subject: Re: [geeks] Greenery and brambles...
>>
>>Canes?  Are we still talking about raspberries? Could you please clarify?
> 
> 
> All the "domestic" and wild raspberry plants I know of in North America
> are essentially biennial above-ground.  The first year the plant
> develops but grows no fruit.  The second year the one-year old plant
> flowers and grows fruit while also sending up new stalks from the roots
> for next year.  The two-year old canes die in the fall after hopefully
> bearing a crop of fruit and they need to be taken out, not just for
> keeping things in good order to avoid too much tangle, but also to avoid
> leaving a good home for many bugs and their predators.

Funny.  We never had to do that with my Grandmother's plants.  But then 
she was _extrmely_ good with plants.  They kinda just grew where she 
told them and how she told them. ;-)

> We even maintained the odd wild raspberry patch in the pastures, though
> most of the wild varieties I'm familiar with have quite fine canes and
> they break up and disintegrate quite easily under a heavy snowbank while
> the live canes spring back up after the snow melts.

The raspberries we had stayed in one spot.  I don't think there was 
another set of them on her lot.  This despite large hordes of birds each 
year - including a large raven named Charlie that stopped by on a 
regular basis.  What _did_ grow eveywhere and gum up the works was red 
sumac.  That stuff and the black locust trees took over almost all of 
the back acreage.

Mike Hebel