Are these wine berries? - Ask Extension
My friend gave me some of her raspberry canes and I planted them in a sunny part of the garden 3 or 4 years ago. Last year they produced small tart be...
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Are these wine berries? #874304
Asked June 23, 2024, 2:42 PM EDT
My friend gave me some of her raspberry canes and I planted them in a sunny part of the garden 3 or 4 years ago. Last year they produced small tart berries, but the birds got most of them before we could enjoy them. I was suspicious that that might not be true red raspberries, but seeing them this year has confirmed that suspicion. I think they might actually be wine berries but I would like to know your expert opinion. If they are wine berries I want to remove them because I read that they are very invasive. I'm disappointed because I now need to start my raspberry patch over again. How do I prevent the wine berries from coming back and taking over my new patch?
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
If the canes look red and furry, then you definitely have wine berry plants. And, yes they are considered invasive. Fortunately, they are not that difficult to remove other than dealing with all of the thorns and unwieldy long canes. You could spray them with a systemic herbicide, but, that may not be very effective at this point.
I was very successful in removing a large patch of wine berries in my yard by cutting them down, chopping the canes into pieces I could handle, and pulling out whatever roots I could. Then over the next year or so, I pulled out whatever was regrowing. Any herbicide you might want to apply would be more effective on the smaller regrowth.
Take a look at these websites for more information on the plant and its control.
https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/ruph.htm
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/wineberry/
Good luck! Robin
I was very successful in removing a large patch of wine berries in my yard by cutting them down, chopping the canes into pieces I could handle, and pulling out whatever roots I could. Then over the next year or so, I pulled out whatever was regrowing. Any herbicide you might want to apply would be more effective on the smaller regrowth.
Take a look at these websites for more information on the plant and its control.
https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/ruph.htm
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/wineberry/
Good luck! Robin
