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Raspberry to Blackcurrent..

lindamarchena32941lindamarchena32941 Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
A few years ago I planted various different Raspberry canes in my garden.
We had quite a few good years of fruit, until they started to morph into Blackcurrants.
I have tried to research reasons for this to happen but, i have come up trumps.
last year I had one remaining cane, i decided not to prune it to see what happens, and unfortunately as the leaves have started to sprout I can see that it to has become a Blackcurrant.
I can add that i did also plant one Blackcurrant a few years ago, this has stayed true to its original form.
We would like to grow Raspberries again, however, I am concerned the same thing will happen
I am by no means a professional but, I am thinking this is a bit strange??

Thank you for reading

Linda

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    That's more than strange!
    It just can't happen.

    Did you meant Blackberries rather than Blackcurrants?

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Not possible.
     Probably the birds have spread blackcurrent  seeds around, or prunings left on the soil have rooted, and your raspberries didn't like the conditions and have died off.  Raspberries like sandy soil best but do not like drying out in summer.   Most people with raspberries have trouble keeping them under control, I find in sandy soil they have a tendency to run around underground and come up a few feet from where originally planted.
  • lindamarchena32941lindamarchena32941 Posts: 3
    Hi Pete, 
    This is what I thought.
    Some of the canes were from a neighbour and hers are fine.
    i obviously have no proof, of it but its freaking me out.
    I asked in the garden centre too, the guy said maybe cross pollination, but I've no understanding so I cant comment.
    Yes, little Blackcurrants!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Do you have any photos?

    As @Pete.8 says, what you thought happened is impossible … so some photos might enable us to successfully unpick what really happened. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • lindamarchena32941lindamarchena32941 Posts: 3
    I should have taken some last year.
    I was going to dig them up at the weekend, but I will wait now until they flower and fruit to take some pictures
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Even cross pollination couldn't happen - they're different species of plant.

    It's most likely as said above that birds are the cause and your raspberries have failed.

    I grow blackcurrants and I do get a number of seedlings every year from birds/dropped berries.
    Raspberries can spread quite a distance from the roots - I have them coming up about 5-6ft away from where they're planted.


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    Blackcurrants take years to fruit from seed though, so they will have had to have been there a while. 

    It is easy to tell the difference between blackcurrants and raspberries though, so you don't need to wait for them to flower. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    How close is your blackcurrant to the area where the raspberries were? Google tells me that blackcurrants can produce suckers (eg https://www.scotplantsdirect.co.uk/planting-care/garden-advice/soft-fruit-advice/blackcurrants-planting-guide.html ), so maybe that's what's happened.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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