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Blackcap
Raspberry, Black Raspberry, or White bark Raspberry is a
species of Rubus native to western North America, from
British Columbia, Canada south to California, New Mexico
and Mexico. It is closely related to the eastern Black
Raspberry Rubus occidentalis. It is a deciduous perennial
shrub growing to 2.5m(7ft) by 1m at a medium rate.
A native raspberry? Yes, and it tastes great! The fruit
of Rubus leucodermis is 1–1.2 cm diameter, reddish-purple,
and dark blue to nearly black when ripe, and can be
confused with blackberries. The black raspberry is a very
well flavored fruit that can also be dried for winter use.
The white arching canes are impressive with their powdery
white coating. Great replacement if you desire an edible
landscape where you are eliminating invasive blackberries.
While
the crown is perennial, the canes are biennial, growing
vegetatively one year, flowering and fruiting the second
and then dying. As with other black raspberries, the tips
of the 1st year canes (primo canes) often grow downward
to the soil in the fall, and take root and form tip
layers which become new plants.
The leaves are pinnate, with five leaflets on leaves
strong-growing stems in their first year, and three
leaflets on leaves on flowering branchlets with white,
seldom light purple flowers. A refreshing tea can be made
from the leaves. It is in flower in June, and the seeds
ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite
(have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by
insects.
Hardiness zones: 3-9 (-37°C/-35°F, -5°C/25°F) in
winter. It is hardy to zone 0 and is not frost tender. It
requires moist soil. It is found in sunny edge; dappled
shade. The plants should be fertilized in September.
Irrigation should be gradually reduced in September and
October to prepare them for winter.
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