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Believed to be a red-fruiting
form of the Californian blackberry, or the result
of a chance cross between this blackberry and
a raspberry, the loganberry was discovered by
Judge Logan at Santa Cruz and named in his honour.
After almost a century, the canes lost vigour
until the new LY59 strain recently brought about
a revival in vigour and popularity. Plants of
this strain will send out new canes 240cm (8ft)
in length. They are quite brittle, with the arching
habit of the raspberry, so that they are tied
to the supporting wires in a similar way.
Loganberries do not like cold winds and the canes
are more frost-tender than either raspberries
or blackberries. Hence they should be grown in
more sheltered gardens, whilst blackberries are
for colder places.
Provide the plants with a soil containing plenty
of nitrogenous humus, for they fruit only on the
new season’s canes and as much new cane
growth as possible must be produced. Farmyard
manure, shoddy, poultry manure and composted straw
are all valuable, or dig in some peat and garden
compost and give a handful of bone meal for each
plant. In April, give the rows 30g per m (1oz
per yd) of sulphate of ammonia during wet weather.
This will increase cane growth, on which next
year’s fruit will be borne.
Plant any time between November and early March,
180cm (6ft) apart, only just covering the roots.
In March, cut back the canes to 15cm (6in) above
the ground, and tie in the new canes as they grow.
Like raspberries, this fruit will not bear a crop
the first year. Should the cane tips have been
caught by frost, remove them in spring when the
plants are given heavy mulch. During August, they
will be laden with large crimson berries, which
do not part from the core and so freeze and bottle
well.
Propagation is by rooting the tips of the canes
as for blackberries.
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