Monday, January 19, 2009

Bababerries

I planted three of these things, purchased from Home Depot. Some info on 'em:

One of the largest raspberries, the Bababerry is red, sweet, firm, and has an excellent flavor. This berry is great for hot regions and mild winters. It bears large crops in early Summer and a small crop in the fall.

'Bababerry' needs some chilling in the winter and is a heat tolerant cultivar. Fruits are borne in late spring and fall. Raspberries are biennials that perform best in full sun with plenty of water and a good fertilizing when blooms begin. A slow warming spring, such as in the Pacific Northwest, is required for optimal flower and fruit production. Staking is also usually necessary. White flowers are borne from late April to June followed by the much anticipated red or sometimes yellow fruit which ripens in late summer. Birds also love the fruit, so you may have to share the harvest. Plants should be placed 3' apart in rows between 7-9' apart. Fruit is produced on one year old wood. For best results, cut down all fruited canes to ground level at the end of the season. The Rubus genus is also made up of flowering, ornamental shrubs, either evergreen or deciduous, some of which are native species.

Any of many species of fruit-bearing bushes of the genus Rubus in the rose family. When picked, the juicy red, purple, or black berry separates from a core, whereas in the related blackberry the core is part of the fruit. Both so-called berries are actually aggregate fruits. Red raspberries are propagated by suckers (see suckering) from the roots of the parent plant or from root cuttings. Black and purple varieties have arched canes and are propagated by layering of the shoot tips. Raspberries contain iron and vitamin C. They are eaten fresh and are also very popular in jams, as a pastry filling, and as a flavouring for liqueurs.

2 comments:

  1. Justin:

    I am so happy you have Bababerries in your garden. My grandmother (Baba) patented these berries in the early 1980s after finding them by the stream near her mountain house in Idllywild,CA. Being from Portland, OR, she recognized a hearty berry when she saw it. She sent the plants to friends in OR and in Palm Springs to test them in extreme climates and they seemed to weather most anything. Even in hot climates when the leaves "burn", they still seem to be unaffected. I was always amazed at the size of the berries. We had a desert tortoise growing up and she loved them, berries and leaves.

    Happy Gardening!

    Erin Thomas
    Riverside, CA

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  2. PS Her name was Gertrude Millikan but we called her Baba.

    Erin

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