What to plant? A tayberry, blackberry or raspberry?

[Marcher]

I'm thinking tayberry as it looks (and I presume tastes) like a raspberry but is much larger and more prolific thanks to the blackberry genes.
Then again I'am thinking of planting a blackberry or raspberry as an alternative. Raspberry grow more bushy and seem more convenient, but the fruit is small and it doesn't seem to give much. Then again blackberrys are practically everywhere around here anyway so there seems little point in growing something regarded as a weed.

So what would you choose out of the three? Has anyone grown tayberries? What do they taste like?

[Alison]

Basically it depends on what you want and where you can plant. Blackberries and tayberries really need to be grown up a wall or fence and require training if you want to maximise yield. I have both at front but can FAR more from the blackberry. I'm not that struck on raw tayberries but they do make very good jam or in pies etc, they're nowhere near as sweet as raspberries. Raspberries are canes and are usually supported by wires or a frame. I get huge amounts of them on the lottie and love eating them fresh off the plants every summer. With regards the size of the fruit, my raspberry fruits are roughly the same size as the blackberries with the tayberries being slightly larger.

[veggiechicken]

Raspberries for taste any day! As Alison says, it depends on where you're going to grow it as a raspberry is more freestanding than the others and you can pack more plants into a given space.

[Thelma Sanders]

After a lot of asking on the plots I've just planted a thornless Tayberry (tastes like rasps but a bit sharper)
I also got a Boysenberry (Raspberryx Blackberry xLoganberry) which the blurb says "has huge fruit with a wild blackberry flavour, without the thorns"

The raspberries I planted 3 years ago - Joan J has given me loads and loads of huge fruit this year, after I gave them a good helping of 6X fertiliser when I pruned them

[binley100]

Autumn raspberries are bigger fruit than summer ones, and I've found they're both prolific fruiters . Tayberries are a bit tart for eating raw (imo) but make a lovely jam . When you pick raspberries you leave the core behind, with tayberries the core come too so I've found for jam its best to simmer the fruit to soften then rubthrough a sieve before adding the sugar just as I do with blackberries. Cultivated blackberries tend to be bigger fruit than brambles... but There's a place for all of them , I'd plant all three (if there's room) and a loganberry as well (I have )

[Piggle]

I'd have a raspberry any day , the only thing that had decent fruiting this year.

I'm not that fussed on tay berries as I don't like the middle bit.

[sugar]

To give you an idea of the sizes...


From Left to Right : Tayberry - Boysonberry - Raspberry (Tulameen) - Raspberry (Glenn Doll) - Black raspberry.

My advice? Tastewise, there is not a single other plant in the Rubus-genius that comes close to the Tayberry taste (yes, raw for me please). I simply adore them, way better than raspberry and blackberry imho.

Main disadvantage of Tayberries : they all ripen within a very limited time-frame. While some blackberries give me fruit for several months (Triple Crown excels on this part), Tayberries all ripen within 6 weeks.

[zazen999]

Japanese wineberry

[Alison]

Japanese wineberry

Planted one of those last year and have great hopes for it, hopefully get a few fruits this year

[FB.]

I would go for raspberries - autumn-fruiting types. The autumn-fruiters are also simple to prune and require less space.

Summer raspberries suffer more attacks from pests and birds.

Blackberries can be found in hedgerows all across the country.

Hybrid berries - being a jumble of two related species - often tend to be a bit peculiar in their behaviour and often disappointing.

[Alison]

Summer raspberries suffer more attacks from pests and birds.

Although do tend to produce a larger weight of crop over the autumn ones.

[FB.]

Although do tend to produce a larger weight of crop over the autumn ones.

If raspberry beetle and birds haven't got them first.

Summer-fruiters need spraying for beetle and netting from birds. Autumn-fruiters are much less affected and often need no sprays or nets.

[Alison]

If raspberry beetle and birds haven't got them first.

Summer-fruiters need spraying for beetle and netting from birds. Autumn-fruiters are much less affected and often need no sprays or nets.

Interesting, am guessing it depends on your geography as I've never even heard of raspberry beetle (don't spray any of my plants anyway) and even though I'm sure the birds get some, they produce so many that I don't notice and always have enough to make loads of jam as well as eating fresh / freezing. Made a load of raspberry vinegar the other year which was very good too.

[FB.]

am guessing it depends on your geography .

Quite likely.

[veggiechicken]

My raspberries have very few problems with beetle - but the loganberry Virtually every fruit is grubbed.