Illiny Hardy blackberry variety

Rating [ 0 ]

Selected for northern growers. One of the best rate of winter survival of all the blackberry varieties, acceptable for cold areas with returning frosts and unpredictable springs

Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson 'Illiny Hardy'

Originated from a cross of Chester Thornless x NY 95

Variety denomination - 'Illiny Hardy'

Plants are thorny

Bushes have erect canes

Fruit weight is 4 g

Berries have a rounded shape

Fruiting habit - floricane fruiting (summer-bearing)

Flowering on floricanes starts in the third week of May

Ripening date (regular) - second week of July

Productivity is 4300 kg from ha

Soluble solids - 10.1%

Cold hardiness is extremely high

Heat tolerance is low

Patent Plant 8,333 dated August 01, 1993

Current status - obsolete or rarely used

Recommended replacement - Osage

Country of origin - United States

Agawam Amanda Anastasia Wyeberry Apache Arapaho Babycakes Bailey Big Daddy Black Butte Black Diamond Black Gem Black Jack Black Magic Black Pearl Black Satin Blakely Boysenberry Brazos Caddo Chesapeake Chester Thornless Cheyenne Chickasaw Chief Joseph Choctaw Clark Gold Columbia Giant Columbia Star Columbia Sunrise COX's miracle berry Danna Douglass Doyle's Thornless Eclipse Evergreen Thornless Galaxy Hall’s Beauty Heaven Can Wait Hedrick HJ-6 HJ-7 Hull Thornless Illiny Hardy Kelly Kiowa Kotata Loganberry Lucretia Marion Mary Carmen Metolius MM01 Natchez Navaho Nettleton Creamy White Newberry Nightfall Obsidian Onyx Osage Ouachita Ponca Prime-Ark 45 Prime-Ark Freedom Prime-Ark Horizon Prime-Ark Traveler Prime-Jan Prime-Jim Reuben Schultz Shawnee Siskiyou Smoothstem Sweetie Pie Thornfree Triple Crown Twilight Von Waldo Wild Treasure Willamette Thornless Marion

This blackberry variety specially selected for regions, which are too cold for successfully growing blackberry. Illiny Hardy is thorny and erect, height of plants is moderate 1-1,5 m, after this height plants begin to arch. Cultivar produces most of its root suckers within 25 to 30 cm, suckering is limited (from 6 to 10 stems). Stems are large in diameter (from 2 to 3 cm at the beginning). As the floricane matures, the mature stems become reddish brown. The primocanes emerge beginning in the middle of May and continue to emerge through the month of July. Thorns are long and sharp.
Plants bloom in May, last flowers can be seen on the bushes up to late June. The flowers are white and contain a branched cymose inflorescence. Berries ripen from mid to late July (very depend of region). Color is black, glossiness is retained even when the fruit is overripe. The flavor of the fruit is acidic but flavorful, and resembles the flavor of wild blackberries.
Illiny Hardy has survived temperatures as low as minus 30 C, that is one of the best results from all known blackberry varieties.