OT Triple Crown Plants

[Bluemalibu]

'Tis harvest time... the Red Haven peaches and T/C blackberries have me on a perpetual fructose high! Both of these cultivars are simply incredible picked and eaten fresh. (But the thoughts of blackberry syrup makes me swoon!!!)

As our Triple Crown blackberries are ripening this week, their incredible flavor got me to feeling guilty that more people aren't enjoying such a wonderful treat; which then got me thinking about maybe gauging the number of forum members that might want to receive T/C plants this fall. If I could get a PM to give me the heads-up, this would give me a rough number of plants to propagate after harvesting the berries over the next couple of weeks. The response last year on the other forum was very strong, so this would allow me enough lead-in time to get a healthy number of plants prepared in advance.

I had shipped mostly cuttings last year, but was able to find enough volunteer plants to get one into most member's package... and had asked $5 to offset the cost of packaging and shipping. Unfortunately, the Mrs. wasn't at all pleased with over a $300 shortfall in the actual cost of boxing and postage... especially after the shipments had Bogarted an entire week to get them all sent out; so with the added weight caused by multiple plants in each shipment this year, I'm going to ask for $9, delivered. (And, as last year, don't be shy to let me know if you have more mouths to feed than dollars to do it, as those shipments are without charge)



These are a few pictures of the T/C taken today, about three days into the fruit ripening period...










It is pretty hard to gauge the size of the berries in the photo above, so these next pictures will better show the relative sizes of the berries. (My hand struggles to squeeze into a large size glove; XL gloves are a comfortable fit.)

(And notice that my arms don't look like I've been trying to baptize a clowder of alley cats... the Triple Crown are absolutely thornless!)

[Charlie]

Those are some fine looking berries! My TC has been moved around the back yard so many times it hasn't had the chance to make any in a few years. Gotten some good ones from PAF but I think the TC is a better berry.

[Bluemalibu]

Thanks, Charlie. That's good to know about the PA Freedom. I added several of those plants this spring to stretch the harvest period out some. The review that I read placed the PAF a world above PA Traveler when rating taste, so I was hoping that it would be close to the quality of the T/C... but I guess that the T/C does set a pretty high bar.

[hstark]

Holy smokes those are huge! I am out of room in my yard... only figs for me, but as usual, you are so generous Blue!

[Bluemalibu]

Thanks Helen, ...but if I were as generous as you suggest, I'd have offered to plant the vines in everyone's yard for them! LOL!!

[don_sanders]

Those are beauties. I look forward to eating some berries in a couple years. Hopefully, I can get enough sun to them so they ripen properly.

[Bluemalibu]

Thanks Don... it'd be nice to be able to take credit for their quality, but, truth be told, after planting them eighteen years ago, about my only input was kicking on the water lines every couple of days. All of the rest was due to The Man upstairs.

We have the opposite problem here with the sun. I've had to have 160' linear feet of 40% shade cloth over the vines since April, to safeguard the tender berries against the unrelenting sun here.

[Charlie]

This is my first Spring with PAF, new canes. My experience is they are very prone to blow over in any strong wind and break at the base. Have lost more than half of the new canes. I didn't create a trellis for them because they are supposed to be erect on their own. Perhaps that will improve with time. On a good note, they are putting out many sucker canes, some feet away from the main crowns and those appear to be much more sturdy and will fill in the bed area.

[ross]

They are actually classified as semi-erect, Charlie. Primeark Freedom is an example of a fully erect. Although, even my Primeark Freedom's I have trellised. Hope it works out for ya.

-Ross

[smatthew]

PAF's first year canes are not erect. Following years they are much more erect.

[fitzski]

Nice offer, Blue. I just put in a few primocane blackberries this year though. This is my first time trying someting other than figs. Maybe 18 years from now I'll be getting a harvest like yours

[fitzski]

Thanks for the note, art. I'm going to try and cage them like my father in law. It seemed to control them a little.

[smatthew]

Fitzski - you cage your father in law?

[fitzski]

Only when he gets out of control

[ross]

Generous offer, Blue! And motivating pictures. Can't wait for mine to fruit. I put two in a bed of mine, and 4 in pots this year! Also have Prime-Ark Freedom & Prime-Ark 45 cooking this year.

[cdeguida4]

Hey Blue PM me your paypal and I would be happy to get some of these, my blackberries perished this past year. I grow almost everything in pots, so when I put some in a pot last season I skipped a step and forgot to check to see if the pot needed to be drilled out for drainage.

[Bluemalibu]

As far as I'm concerned, you still have lots of credit on the ledger books here Chris. I'll set some plants aside with the figs that are earmarked to head your way.

[cdeguida4]

Thank you sir. Let me know when you would like for me to send the trade your way.

[Altadena Mara]

Those are amazing. My TC wasn't producing at all in a five gallon pot, so I moved it up to a fifteen gallon pot last fall. There are a few berries ripening now, but nothing like yours.

[Bluemalibu]

Those are amazing. My TC wasn't producing at all...

I've had several members contact me and tell of having received Triple Crown plants from a large national nursery and have not had but a few berries off of them over the course of several years. Although they have suggested that the temps are too warm where they reside, or their chill hours too few for T/C, I have to disagree... We are in our second week here of temps that have been hovering between 102*-108*; ...and it is still early summer. As I've mentioned before, the sun is simply unrelenting here, requiring me to place a 40% shade cloth over the rows to keep the berries from literally being cooked on the vine. We won't see rain again until after Thanksgiving. And the winters are so warm that the Triple Crown and some figs don't even lose their leaves, nor do they go dormant. (Almost no chill hours whatsoever) Even with these 'adverse' conditions, you can see how productive this strain is for us.

I am beginning to think that it certainly may be just due to the strain of T/C that others have received from the big companies. Similarly, figgary and KK each have a certain strain of fig that is growing robustly for them, while another active forum member has the same variety, but of a different strain (tree source) that has not grown appreciably in three years.

My folks are growing the T/C in small pots, and those floricane vines that I gave them produced berries that same year, and subsequently they've enjoyed berries every year since receiving them.

I hope to have a few that are struggling currently with T/C plants try these, to see if this strain will do better for them.

[Harborseal]

Triple Crown berries are amazing. Mine have been floppy for several years but this year I have 5' erect stems and tons of green berries. This is a terrific offer.