The weather this year was very weird. First the winter weather lasted five months, all the way through May, then spring went by all too quickly before we went into an unusually-hot, unusually-dry summer. Of course, since I live near a rain forest, “unusually dry” for us is still nothing like a drought. However, it played hob with our fruit; as of this writing the few apples I’m seeing on the trees are still quite green, and I haven’t seen any plums at all. The blackberries were the only exception; they fruited well, though most of the berries were too small to use. Still, I easily got a basketfull, and on Sunday I made a blackberry pie. The same day I also noticed that the vines in the lane bore much more heavily and with much larger, nicer fruit, so I picked a bunch more yesterday. I’m not sure I’ll have enough for jam, but if I don’t I can still make blackberry muffins or another pie, and have the leftovers for dessert with cream and sugar.
Diary #636
September 6, 2022 by Maggie McNeill
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My aunt called me last night. She is in the Seattle area to visit relatives, and she was telling me about all the blackberries growing along their street.
Oh yeah, they’re all over the place here. The only problem with that is having to be polite to silly people bloviating about how they’re an “invasive species”.
Whether it is invasive or native depends on the species.
Rubus allegheniensis known as Allegheny blackberry6 or common blackberry is native to North America.
Rubus fruticosus L. known as European blackberry, is native to Europe, and is much like Rubus ulmifolius.
Rubus ulmifolius known as elmleaf blackberry or thornless blackberry, is native to europe and is naturalized in North America.
Rubus armeniacus, know as Himalayan blackberry or Armenian blackberry is invasive in North America.
It was imported to North America because of its fruit production. It is now endemic in the Pacific Northwest.
The problem with Himalayan blackberry is that it propagates profusely. It is very difficult or impossible to get rid the bushes. It can smother or wipe out other plants. Its dry canes are a ladder fuel for wildfires.