Wild blackberries can act as a reservoir for the disease; flowers of uninfected canes can become infected from those on infected canes and will show symptoms the following year. Wear protective clothing and protective eye wear. (left). Pick the fruit. have tasty fruit, but the rapid growth makes this fruit invasive in many climates. The life-span of blackberry shrubs is variable, but they usually live for less than ten years reaching heights of up to 3 m (10 ft). The rednecked cane borer creates galls, splits in bark and holes in leaves on primocanes in April through June. The Black raspberry stems are notably glaucous (bluish white). If your plant is suffering from the blackberry disease known as Raspberry Bushy Dwarf virus, the leaves will be have some bright yellow on them, and the leaves of the fruiting vines may have a bleached look in the summer. If the disease spreads in an infected plant, then the plant can't be cured. She travels widely and has spent over six years living abroad. Water regularly; provide an inch (2.5 cm.) Numerous bright orange pustules developing on the undersides of leaves. One beetle generation every 1-2 years; pheromone traps may actually attract more beetles to home gardens and should generally be avoided; beetle overwinters as larvae in soil; beetle has an extensive range of over 300 host plants. Wild brambles and dewberries may act as a reservoir for the disease; fungus overwinters in the host plant. Links will be auto-linked. Blackberry flowers are white with five petals. have tasty fruit, but the rapid growth makes this fruit invasive in many climates. Blackberries keep the core and have a white center at the top of the fruit. The disease known as Blackberry Calico will cause faint yellow blotches on the leaves of the plant. Omnivorous leafroller (Platynota stultana). of water per week depending upon weather conditions. They often have thorns, but some varieties are thornless. Fungus overwinters in buds or on surface of canes; emergence of the disease is favored by warm, dry weather conditions. Water regularly; provide an inch (2.5 cm.) The infected plant cane and leaves exhibit the small, lemon-yellow pustules. Flowers with distorted petals and enlarged sepals which gives the appearance of a double flower; unopened flowers are enlarged and redder than normal; shoots may have abnormal proliferations; no fruit is produced on infected branches. Orange aecia bordered by white ruptured peridium. Whether you are identifying blackberries for eradication or looking for tasty berries in the wild, identification is important. Allow 3-4 new canes per plant to grow to the top of the training wire or trellis. While caring for the hardy perennial is relatively easy -- a wild bush grows easily in many parts of the country -- a few conditions can cause the plant's leaves to begin dying. Examine the flowers closely. The leaves alternate along the stem with each group of leaves consisting of 3–5 leaflets. The name blackberry is used to describe several species, including Rubus fruticosis (wild blackberry), Rubus ursinus and Rubus argutus, two species native to North America. Identify the fruit. Light green chlorotic patches on foliage which later develops into powdery gray patches; leaves may be twisted or distorted; if infection is severe then shoots may become spindly with small leaves which cup upwards. Emergence of Botrytis fruit rot is favored by cool and wet conditions; physical damage to fruit increases likelihood of infection. Eulalia Palomo has been a professional writer since 2009.