Thorns as protection for plants and fruit
With their thorns, wild blackberry tendrils have a defense mechanism that has been tried and tested for thousands of years. After all, the sweet blackberries do not grow as an end in themselves Summertime on the tendrils, but serve for further reproduction and spread. This can be realized even more extensively if the seeds of the blackberry plants are taken up with the fruits of birds and far away with the as fertilizer suitable bird manure can be returned. The thorns thus act like a reservation of the fruit for the birds, as they deter and deter other animals and humans.
also read
- Propagate blackberries using cuttings
- Gleditschie is also available without thorns
- The different blackberry species in nature and in the garden
Modern cultivars and breeds without thorns
For commercial cultivation and gardening, blackberry tendrils with thorns are not just that Necessity of protective clothing and gloves, but always occasional scratches and painful ones Injuries. For this reason, blackberry varieties have been bred in the last few decades that are not just higher
Bigger fruit yield but also have few or no thorns on the tendrils. However, a few decades ago, early breeding attempts such as the following varieties were of secondary importance and not entirely frost-hardy:- Thornfree
- Thornless Evergreen
- Black Diamond
- Black Pearl
In contrast, these taste and climatological disadvantages could largely be compensated for in newer breeds of blackberries without thorns, these include, for example:
- Navaho Bigandearly
- Little Black Prince
- Navaho Summerlong
- Tayberry
However, the Tayberry is not a black blackberry in the classic sense, but a cross between blackberry and raspberry with more red fruits.
Use thorny blackberry varieties profitably
Not all gardeners these days tend to use thornless ones Blackberry species. After all, blackberries are often used like a hedge as a natural fence, where the sharp thorns protect against unwanted intruders. To do this, the blackberry plants are in the garden along the Property line on one Trellis planted from wooden pegs and tension wires, for which the Theodor Reimers variety is well suited.
Tips & Tricks
The proven blackberry variety Theodor Reimers is not thornless like thornless blackberries from modern ones Breeding, the variety combines the advantages of large and aromatic fruits with the defensive ability of wild ones Blackberry tendrils.
