Himalayan blackberry variety
Rating [ 4 ]
Very strong and aggressive heavily-studded cultivar, non-recommended (or prohibited in some areas) for cultivation
Rubus subgenus Rubus armeniacus 'Himalayan'
Variety denomination - 'Himalayan'
Himalayan is the parent for Fantasia
Plants are thorny
Bushes have trailing canes
Fruit weight is 4 g
Berries have a rounded shape
Fruiting habit - floricane fruiting (summer-bearing)
Flowering on floricanes starts in the second week of June
Ripening date (regular) - third week of July
Cold hardiness is extremely high
Heat tolerance is moderate
Current status - obsolete or rarely used
Country of origin - Armenia
In contrast to its name, Himalayan blackberry is a native of Western Europe (presumably the homeland is Armenia Republic). Himalayan blackberry was probably first introduced in 1885 as a cultivated crop.
Himalayan blackberry is a thorny cultivar, thicket forming shrub in the Rose family that produces large, edible blackberry fruits. Leaves are green, divided into 3-5 leaflets that are rounded and have toothed edges. Flowers are in flat-topped clusters of 5 to 20 flowers, each with 5 petals, white to light pink, about 20-30 mm in diameter. Stems can grow up to 9-10 m in length and up to 4 m in tall, root at the tips when they touch the ground, and have stout, hooked, sharp prickles with wide bases. The white flowers and then the roundish, black and shiny (about 2 cm) fruit forms on second year canes that grow off of first year canes. The fruit ripens from midsummer to autumn, late when compared with native wild blackberries.
Canes grow to a height of about 40 cm or more before they arch over and trail on the ground. Daughter plants may develop where first year canes touch the ground. Individual canes live only 2-3 years, yet reach a density of 500 canes per square meter. In less than two years a cane cutting can produce a thicket 5 meters in diameter. A large quantity of hard and dry litter and standing dead canes accumulate in old thickets.
This aggressive plant creates dense thickets that are impassable and sprawls over surrounding vegetation. Himalayan readily invades riparian areas, forest edges, oak woodlands, meadows, roadsides, clear-cuts and any other relatively open area, including all open forest types. Once it becomes well established, Himalayan out competes low stature native vegetation and can prevent establishment of shade intolerant trees, leading to the formation of apparently permanent Himalayan thickets with little other vegetation present.
It is strongly recommended not to use this variety in gardens and fields to avoid uncontrolled overgrowth and reproduction. It is very hardy to decimate Himalayan blackberry and all roots from ground area.
Himalayan blackberry is a thorny cultivar, thicket forming shrub in the Rose family that produces large, edible blackberry fruits. Leaves are green, divided into 3-5 leaflets that are rounded and have toothed edges. Flowers are in flat-topped clusters of 5 to 20 flowers, each with 5 petals, white to light pink, about 20-30 mm in diameter. Stems can grow up to 9-10 m in length and up to 4 m in tall, root at the tips when they touch the ground, and have stout, hooked, sharp prickles with wide bases. The white flowers and then the roundish, black and shiny (about 2 cm) fruit forms on second year canes that grow off of first year canes. The fruit ripens from midsummer to autumn, late when compared with native wild blackberries.
Canes grow to a height of about 40 cm or more before they arch over and trail on the ground. Daughter plants may develop where first year canes touch the ground. Individual canes live only 2-3 years, yet reach a density of 500 canes per square meter. In less than two years a cane cutting can produce a thicket 5 meters in diameter. A large quantity of hard and dry litter and standing dead canes accumulate in old thickets.
This aggressive plant creates dense thickets that are impassable and sprawls over surrounding vegetation. Himalayan readily invades riparian areas, forest edges, oak woodlands, meadows, roadsides, clear-cuts and any other relatively open area, including all open forest types. Once it becomes well established, Himalayan out competes low stature native vegetation and can prevent establishment of shade intolerant trees, leading to the formation of apparently permanent Himalayan thickets with little other vegetation present.
It is strongly recommended not to use this variety in gardens and fields to avoid uncontrolled overgrowth and reproduction. It is very hardy to decimate Himalayan blackberry and all roots from ground area.
