Indulge yourself with delicious crops of soft fruit from July to September with this Berry ‘Duo’. This perfect duo provides an extended harvest season providing high yields of tasty fruits for puddings, jams, tarts or as a healthy sweeter for your breakfast muesli. Both crops are easy to grow, even for fruit-growing novices.
Berry Duo contains the following two varieties in one pot:
- Tayberry - A cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, this fully hardy, self-fertile, deciduous shrub makes a great addition to the kitchen garden or allotment. The distinctive flavoured fruits have the appearance of a red Blackberry and can be harvested from July to August. Perfect for cooking, freezing, making jam or eating straight from the bush. Tayberries generally produce higher yields than Loganberries. Allow fruits to fully ripen to a deep purple-red for the best flavours. Height: 2m (6'). Spread: 2.5m (8').
- Blackberry ‘Thornfree’ - A mid-season blackberry that is a cinch to train and harvest due to its thornless stems – making it an especially suitable choice for growing against a wall or fence, either in the open ground or planted in a large container. High yields of large fruits are produced from August to September. Height: 300cm (118"). Spread: 300cm (118").
Estimated time to cropping once planted: 16-20 months.
Estimated time to best yields: 28-32 months.
Growing Information
Plant tayberry/blackberry bushes in a sunny position in any well drained soil. Incorporate plenty of well rotted manure or garden compost into the ground prior to planting.
When growing tayberry/blackberry plants, support the stems on a framework of wires stretched between sturdy 1.8m (6') posts, or trained against a trellis or wall.
Water well for the first year until plants are fully established. Train the stems onto their supports as they grow. Cover the plants with netting to protect the crop from birds as fruits begin to develop. Fruits can be harvested from July onwards. In autumn, prune the canes which have fruited over summer to ground level. Canes which have not fruited should be 'tied in' to their supports. In spring, while the ground is moist, apply a mulch of well rotted manure or garden compost to the base of the canes to improve moisture retention throughout the summer.
