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We have these atrocious thorny bushes that produce no berries, just millions of vicious thorns. We've waged war on them a few times w/ thick gloves and a pick, but they come back w/ a vengeance. They get extremely tall very quickly, travel underground w/ a pretty large root system and pop up everywhere. The Rose beetle also loves them. Anyone have any advice to keep these away? Leaf is almost heart shaped. Baby stems are covered in bright fuscia hairs.
Melissa Fletcher
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"Make yurts, not war" Bill Coperthwaite, 1973
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We have these as well (Fern Acres). We have been moderately successful using Round Up in copious quantities. By moderately sucessful, we have reduced the population by 50%, after 2 years. But we only visit the property every 3 months or so, if you are there full time you might have a faster kill rate.
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That's the Himalayan raspberry. Eventually it'll produce yellow raspberries, but they don't taste very good. It actually has fewer thorns than it looks like (not that that's any comfort), because lots of them are just hairs; but those hide the actual thorns. You need to find the parent(s) and rip them out. Cutting the tall stems near the base and then pulling up the root ball works pretty well, especially since there are fewer thorns near the base.
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I don't think this is the raspberry- we have those as well, and have been pulling them up as described. These thorny bushes are VERY thorny- the ones we have have grown up to 5-6 feet tall, with no berries. Just thorns. Sharp, big (1/4" long) thorns!
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Yep. BIG thorns, and we've had them up to 8' tall. My approach has been what Midnight Rambler recommends, but the 'network' comes back, a small, overlooked one seems to become the main hub in short order. I'm hoping that persistence pays off... I've never seen any berry on them. Just recently discovered some 'flowering' or seeding. Didn't look anything like a berry, so maybe we don't let them reach maturity or they do that some other time of year. Thanks for the advice, it gives me hope!
Melissa Fletcher
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"Make yurts, not war" Bill Coperthwaite, 1973
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You said the leaves were heart-shaped; do they have the narrow end at the stem, and the broad (indented) end at the tip? If so that's definitely Himalayan raspberry, there's almost nothing else that looks like that. Most other plants, including other raspberries, have leaves that are broader at the base or are oval if they're wider toward the tip.
They can get very tall; instead of being brambly like other raspberries the canes first grow straight up to get above the tree fern canopy, then arch over. Unfortunately that means they do very well even in closed forest that other raspberry species can't handle.
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Yep, that's them. Bright fuscia hairs all along the stem, especially bright when they're small. The Chinese rose beetles love them. We've pulled most of them, but have left a few strategic 'arms' of it so that we can take out more of the beetle population at dusk/early dark. I think those arms are probably feeding the babies, but I don't want to take them all out until we see a major decline in the beetles, otherwise the beetles will just start attacking something else... like our young fruit trees!
Melissa Fletcher
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"Make yurts, not war" Bill Coperthwaite, 1973
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Yurtgirl- what elevation are you? I started researching these and most sources say it thrives above 1800 feet. I'm only at 1400, which may be why I only have a couple of groups (thank goodness!)
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We're about 2100'. Odd because it only thrives in some areas of our yard... like along the driveway, it loves it. And one small area near the bath house. But in a few short months, the small annoying bushes turned into giant, thorned octo-monsters!
Melissa Fletcher
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"Make yurts, not war" Bill Coperthwaite, 1973
Those ARE Himalayan rasberries, a very nasty plant. They will grow over 50 feet tall if left alone. They are a scourge. I can't even find any gloves that will work for picking them out of the ground. The roots are weak. You have to "walk them down" with a large board. You can also spray the leaves with Escort or Cimmaron and watch them die. If you hike about a half mile into the Olaa forest reserve you'll find the 50 foot ones growing up the Ohias. Speculation is they came as seeds on the shoes of people from Australia. A nasty, nasty plant.
