Blackberries share a characteristic with roses and other bushes. Holding the branch down against the soil will make it form roots and a new plant. Of course I have a grassy weed that does the same, subtly, sneakily, invasively.
I met a rose gardener who used cuttings of roses to multiply the rose bush display in her yard. She had 100 bushes growing in her yard when we lived in Midland. She said she could not afford to buy all the roses she wanted. Rose gardeners can be a bit OCD.
I was going to tip the biggest blackberry when I found its trailing cane already against the soil. No wonder blackberries are rampant in the Northwest. I put a lump of wood on another cane to hold it down.. Each blackberry has mulch to keep the plant roots moist during this hot spell - 95 degrees and sunny for the next 10 days or so.
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| This is how I feel after digging a while, only not so white. |
Amazon Mulch
I use all the newspapers donated, but I am often short. One book suggested cardboard boxes, so I keep them for mulch too.
Today I spread out several boxes and positioned them around plants. I put shredded cyprus on top and watered them. Cardboard is thicker and faster to apply than newspapers.
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| Robins never lack earthworms in our yard. Painting by Norma Boeckler. |
