State of the Patch - Part One

Cherries and Berries

Our second summer at the house I planted a lovely weeping cherry tree in this corner. It’s very short, maybe five feet tall. When the corner was empty, it was a charming addition. It can be seen from the living room. Albeit, you need to stand by the window and look down. Later that summer, I also planted a small raspberry and a small blackberry plant on either side. Oh, the naivety! The blackberry, on the right, shot up fast the following summer to over eight feet talk and then promptly feel over under its own weight. It has sent up 3 or 4 new shoots over the past two summers, the canes of which produce no edible fruit. It’s basically an eyesore.

The raspberry on the other hand spent its first summer recuperating from what I had initially thought was complete death. “It just so happens your friend here is only mostly dead. Big difference between mostly dead and all dead.” The second summer new shoots came up, just a couple. She made ~10 beautiful berries. Last summer is another story. She sent up about a hundred new shoots and we had several pints of beautiful if somewhat watery berries. As they flank the Cherry symmetrically, it’s easy to see the different fates they have survived.

Problems to Solve

1) The Weeping Cherry is being overrun with berry brambles. The aforementioned eyesore. After the initial blush of blossoms, it’s just an ugly mess for the rest of the year. It should be moved, but where to and when? Will it survive the move? How long will it take to recover?

2) In the corner behind the Cherry is very hard to reach and becomes overrun with weeds. Now the berry bramble is starting to take care of this, but in the meantime, it needs some weed mitigation.

3) How do I maintain the raspberries? I believe they flower on last year’s canes? Do I need to cut them shorter? Do I need to cut out the canes that took fruit last year? Time for some quick internet searching.

4) Should I just pull out the under performing blackberry? How difficult would that be? Should they be treated differently than the raspberries? Why aren’t they making fruit? Can I help?

5) I had some success with a plastic berry net on the raspberries last summer, but it was a hassle and not environmentally friendly. Was it necessary? Is there a greener option?

6) What makes raspberries less watery and more flavorful? Do I need to fertilize or feed them? Is it just the type of berry?

7) I need a stronger edge so the brambles don’t continue to creep further out into the yard and it is easier to mow the lawn. What is an affordable option for this? What is an ideal option?