Plant · P-467

Boysenberry

Rubus ursinus x idaeus

Boysenberry is a hybrid bramble - Pacific dewberry crossed into the red raspberry line - grown for its large, soft, dark purple-red fruit, which is too fragile to ship and so is worth far more grown at home than bought in a store. It is self-fertile, so one plant crops alone, and its low chilling requirement lets it fruit through winters too mild for most northern brambles. The canes trail rather than stand, need a trellis or fence, and follow the typical bramble cycle of growing one season and fruiting and dying the next, so cutting out spent canes each winter is the standing job. It roots wherever a cane tip touches the ground and its seed is bird-carried, so it multiplies on its own - free plants for anyone willing to lift the rooted tips.