I really want to like Mysore Raspberries since they’re the only raspberry that does excellently in all of Florida and even deeper into the tropics.
It’s a prolific and close-to-weedy cane fruit that bears abundant quantities of blue-black fruit. I’ve written about it before in this post on growing raspberries in Florida… however, one thing I failed to mention is that the Mysore raspberries we’ve grown are somewhat lacking in flavor.
I don’t think it’s just the plants we were growing, either. When I interviewed Sandy Graves (inventor of the BoonJon composting toilet) a month or so back, he told me his Mysore raspberries were pleasant but not all that flavorful.
There’s a rich raspberry flavor to true raspberries from up north. Blackberries also have their unique rich flavor… yet the Mysore raspberries, though great producers, just don’t have “it.”
Anyone else notice this? I’m wondering if it’s a cultural or a genetic thing. If they were grown in rich soil or with less water, would they have more flavor? Or are their genetics such that they just won’t ever hold up against their temperate cousins?
I’d like to hear your experiences.
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6 comments
So it’s not just me.
Are they in full sun? That might help.
I transplanted some very nice wild blackberries a few years back, great flavor. They never have given good flavored berries in the new location. Might be the soil, they came from rich forest soil, and got moved to heavy clay, basically subsoil.
David, I just purchased a couple canes of the Mysore raspberry and I placed them in a large 30 gallon pot for manageable growth together. I am still waiting on my soil ph kit to arrive, so in the meantime I have amended the soil with adequate nutrition and even a little baking soda to help alkalinize the soil area for the raspberry canes. However, two weeks after in the container, one cane completely went limp. I started to notice slight yellow discolorations with brown-tinged dots on the leaves but perhaps something went south with the roots… I tried to revive it seperately, but now I am just done to that one cane. New shoots are coming from the bottom and green growth continues up top as well. I believe it is getting ready for flowering stages which is cool to see. Could you offer me tips for good fruiting; I have come to hear the more water the plant gets, the more bland/tasteless the berry is. Thanks in advance, I enjoy watching your videos and the lifestyle you have been able to create. You soil rap is hilarious too :’) Well anyways, peace.
Zone 9B garderner, Pasco County Florida
Thanks, Brandon. In my experience, they like soil a little acid with lots of compost. Once they get established, they grow like a weed. Your canes may just be suffering from transplant shock right now.
Hate to tell you this Brandon, but you killed them by amending the soil and raising the ph so high. They like a ph of 5.0 so very acid! Sandy soil in Florida is 5.5-5.7 and these berries thrive on a limestone type of soil.
The mysore canes I planted in my yard last summer are now starting to produce raspberries. I agree they are bland compared to the northern varieties. At first I wondered if the lack of flavor is due to the fact that these are the first batch of berries but it seems others are encountering the same issue. I’m thinking of giving them less water. The plants grow like weeds. They get partial sun. Besides a little fertilizer last summer I haven’t supplemented their growth with anything. They don’t seem to need it.