
Berry Plants and Canes
Strawberries - June Bearing Varieties
Short day strawberry plants initiate flower buds either when days are short (daylight 14 hour or less) and/or when temperatures are less than 60 degrees F (15.5 degrees C). When temperatures are above 60 degrees F and depending on cultivar, day lengths must be less than 8-12 hours for flower initiation to occur. Short day strawberries should produce for 2 – 3 years, depending on winter conditions and annual maintenance. Typically short day strawberries are planted in open beds, 12 – 14 inches apart within the row and with row 36 – 48 inches apart.
Benton
High yielding, bright fruit with excellent shelf life. Medium.large size with conic shape and good flavor. Excellent winter hardiness. Fruit is produce late in the season.
Cavendish
High yielding and large with red stele resistance. Very winter-hardy variety and excellent for all uses.
Honeoye
Early and moderate sized. Bright and relatively firm. Consistent size throughout the season.
Hood
Large, bright, glossy red fruit that turns dark when fully ripe. Sweet flavour and excellent fruit quality. Erect plant makes picking easy. Resistant to root rot and mildew. Susceptible to red stele. Ripens in early June and is not particularly winter hardy.
Jewel
Large, firm, wedge shaped fruit with excellent color and quality. Less susceptible to root rot. Good variety or ‘u-pick’
Kent (Only suitable in the Prairies)
high yielding, large, good quality and flavor. Winter-hardy and excellent for all seasons. Vigorous plant, but has no resistance to red stele/verticillium wilt.
Puget Reliance
High yields of large, medium-red conic fruit that is good for processing or local fresh fruit markets. A mid-season harvest, slightly earlier than ‘totem’. The plant has an erect growth habit and unripe fruit are usually held off the ground, preventing fruit rot. It is virus tolerant.
Puget Crimson
Fruit is large and conical with good flavour and high yields. Later harvest than other June bearing strawberries.
Rainier
The main variety in the Pacific Northwest. A late season cultivar with good flavour and large fruit. Yields are intermediate. Not suited for processing as it does not cap well. Goof for local fresh market. It is tolerant to powdery mildew and red stele. The plant has an erect growth habit.
Shuksan
Large, glossy, bright red fruit with slightly indented yellowish red seeds. Fruit has medium-firm flesh with good flavour. It i good for fresh eating and excellent for freezing and preserves. Very vigorous and produces runners freely. Virus and Botrytis tolerant, and red stele resistant. Does not demand perfect drainage, but is susceptible to Verticillium.
Tillamook
High yielding cultivar with an extremely large fruit size. The large size combined with an open plant habit make it extremely efficient to pick. Colour is somewhat light compared to other Pacific Northwest cultivars. Ripens slightly earlier than Totem.
Totem
Produces relatively firm, conical fruit that has a uniform, intense medium to dark red internal and external colour. Excellent for processing. They have the potential to produce high yields. Resistant to some strains of red stele, verticillium wilt, leaf spot, and powdery mildew. A mid-season harvest.
Strawberries - Everbearing Varieties
Day- Neutral (Everbearing) strawberry plants produce flower buds independent of the day length. Typical time between planting and first flower bud is approximately six to eight weeks. they will initiate flower bus during the entire growing season as long as long temperatures remain moderate. Everbearing strawberries normally only produce for a single season and can produce right up until the first day of frost. Grown as an annual, Day-Neutrals can be carried over if they are healthy and weed-free, but yields tend to decline dramatically in successive years. For best results, plant Day-Neutrals in silver on black plastic mulch. Usual bed spacing is 2 rows per bed with 12 inch triangular spacing.
Albion
Large, firm, conical fruit. Red in color with good flavor, high yields and strong runners. Resistant to Verticillium, Wilt, and Phytophthora.
Seascape
Very large, firm and good flavor when picked ripe. Popular variety for roadside and market gardens. Not as sweet as Albion.
Hecker
Heavy yielding, medium sized, with good flavor.
Monteray
Vigorous plant the needs more space in the field than Albion. Large with good flavor, but not too firm. Susceptible to powdery mildew.
Tribute
Medium sized, firm fruit. Resistant to red stele and mildew.
Tristar
Medium/small fruit and very flavourful. Popular for home gardeners and hanging baskets. Resistant to red stele and mildew.
San Andreas
High quality fruit that has great appearances and flavor. Production similar to Albion.
RASPBERRIES
Raspberries - Floricane / Summer Fruiting Varieties
The season for summer varieties usually lasts 4 – 5 weeks. Approximately from mid-June until mid-August. Fruiting takes place on canes produced the previous years. They pruned and managed differently than Primocane fruit. They are available to the grower in either roots or #1 canes.
Boine
Winter hardy. Good variety for the Prairies. Very flavourful with deep red colour and medium size berry. Upright canes.
Cascade Delight
A very popular fresh market main crop raspberry. It is adapted to the local fresh market, but not to machine harvesting due to its long fruiting laterals. Fruit is long, conic and very glossy. It is a large, attractive, firm fruit with good flavour and easy to pick. It has good field tolerance to phythphthora root rot.
Cascade Gold
Gold / Yellow colour. Good Flavour and fresh market variety.
Chemainus
A mid-season processing and fresh market fruit that produces attractive large, dark, glossy and firm berries. Is suitable for IQF. Its laterals are short and strong. Has some root rot resistance.
Tulameen
An extremely popular cultivar among fresh market growers. It has the longest fruiting season of all summer varieties. It has large fruit with good flavour. Because of its large size, it can be difficult to machine harvest. Susceptible to phytophthora root rot.
Meeker
Is more widely known or machine harvesting and IQF processing than any other cultivar in the Pacific Northwest. It is well adapted for the local fresh market as well. Fruit ripens mid-season and has excellent raspberry flavour. Susceptible to phytophthora root rot.
Rudi
Early summer variety with some resistance to root rot. Has a firm large berry.
Raspberries - Primocane / Fall Fruiting Varieties
The season for fall varieties is usually from the beginning of August until the first frost. Fruiting takes place on canes that come up each year. They are pruned and managed differently than Floricane. They are available to the grower in either roots or #1 canes.
Autumn Bliss
Ripens early, two to three weeks before Heritage and overlaps with late floricane fruiting cultivars. Fruit are large, moderately firm and have a fairly mild flavour. Suitable for local sales or shipping short distances. Can be machine harvested.
Caroline
Cultivar is known for its exceptional flavour. Ripens as much as two weeks before Heritage and has very good yields. Is also more tolerant to root rot than Heritage. Great choice for commercial growers and home gardeners.
Heritage
Relatively late ripening crop. Berries are large, nicely coloured, firm, and attractive with good flavour. Plant are vegetative, tall, sturdy and quite winter hardy.
Nantahala
Large fruit, good flavour, late fall fruiting.
Polka
Early fall fruiting. Medium size berry with good flavour and less prone to root rot.
Squamish
Produces high yields with large glossy fruit. Suitable for both fresh market and processing. Ripens earlier than most.
BLACKBERRIES
Blackberries - Floricane / Summer Fruiting Varieties
The season for summer varieties usually lasts 4 – 5 weeks. Approximately from mid-June until mid-August. Fruiting takes place on canes produced the previous years. They pruned and managed differently than Primocane fruit. ONLY SOLD AS TISSUE CULTURES OR CANES.
Black Diamond
Thornless and adapted mostly for the processing market. I has less vegetation than other blackberry varieties and therefore can be planted 3 feet apart with the rows. It has medium sized fruit with good flavour. It is high yielding with harvest beginning approximately at the beginning of July for a period of 4 weeks.
Chester
Thornless, high yielding and ripens late in the season. Coupled with its excellent fruit storage and handling, Chester has become a popular cultivar for commercial growers. Semi-erect blackberry suited for the fresh market.
Loch Ness
Thornless, popular mid-season semi-erect blackberry suited for the local fresh market. Fruit is large, glossy black, and has good flavour and quality.
Obsidion
Thorny, suited for the early fresh market. It has large fruit with excellent flavour and extremely high yields.
Marion
Thorny, fresh market blackberry with great flavour.
Triple Crown
Thornless, suited for the fresh market. It has medium to large fruit. It flavour is much better than that of Chester. mid to late summer ripening.
Blackberries / Raspberries Hybrid Cultivars
ONLY SOLD AS A TISSUE CULTURE OR CANES.
Boysenberry
A hybrid between red raspberry and blackberry. Generally thought of as a type of blackberry, given its fruit characteristics. Fruit are large, soft, dark purple and covered with a dusty bloom. Flavour is very good and unique. Trailing growth habits. High yields.
Loganberry
A hybrid between red raspberry and blackberry. Fruit are reddish-purple, long, and conical. Flavour is intense and tart. Trailing growth habit.
Tayberry
A hybrid between raspberry and blackberry. Fruit is large, long, conical, with good flavour. Deep to purplish red in colour. Yields are moderate.