Hello,

What is special about this variety that you wanted it so much? The name sounds real pretty, Black Pearl. I've not heard of it.

I got some Arapaho and Navajo thornless from a local nursery. The Arapaho is quite good and I haven't tasted the Navajo yet, but the berries have set.

Have you googled the variety? There is a site called, Berries Unlimited, I think the name is. Have you tried them?

How about Park Seed and Burpee? They send plants.

I hope you find the variety you are looking for.

noss

Well, the USDA info on it makes it sound appealing. It supposedly has a flavor like the famed marionberry, but is hardier.

Berries Unlimited is sold out.

Here is a link that might be useful: description of 'Black Pearl

Black Pearl is just another name in the "dark" series, black diamond, black satin, obsidian, etc.

Pearl was offered as a clearance item in Raintree's 2011 catalog, a bad sign for future customers. Not offered in the 2012 cat. There are so many new fruit varieties being offered these days, it is hard for any one of them to become a perennial favorite.

Many of those berry varieties will be iffy in zone 5. You might want to try Black Diamond, still available. I have been impressed with the flavor. It is a trailing type that would be easier to cover with mulch in the winter.

Hello Loud,

Thanks for the link to the Black Pearl blackberry. It was interesting to note that they have actual pedigrees for plants. I raised and showed Yorkshire Terriers for quite awhile and of course, dogs have pedigrees, but I didn't think of anything like plants as having them, but it makes sense if one is developing a new variety, they would need to keep track of what was used to do so.

Thanks for answering my questions. I wouldn't think that blackberries that would do well up North would do well down this far South.

We used to be able to ride out to the country and go along fencelines to pick wild blackberries and dewberries, but that is no more. It was a lot of fun with the kids. I don't miss the torn up hands, though. Used to make my hands itch so badly from all the scratches. I do appreciate the thornless blackberries and mine taste very good.

noss

Noss, there's no evidence that 'Black Pearl' would do well in the Northeast where I am either. It was bred for the west coast. I just want to try it as an experiment.

The USDA recently reclassified me from zone 5 to 6, so I'm getting a bit more adventurous in what I try to plant. In gardening, there are never any guarantees anyway.

Norcal nursery red bluff CA
sakuma bros farms burlington WA

Noss, the northwest blackberries are what are called dewberries in the south - long trailing canes. I'm not sure why the northwest varieties are not grown in the south, maybe they get too diseased. I'd say they are worth a try, they taste a notch better than the other varieties.

Sakuma didn't have Black Pearl listed, I was looking at their website not long ago. I think they have things at their retail store not on the website and maybe if you call they have other things that can ship.

Scott