Guess what I was up to this afternoon? Yep, I had a little downtime this afternoon and I decided to go hunting for more strange and new things to grow in our garden this coming season. Growing the pineberries was a success, so I have settled on trying to grow salmonberries sometime soon.

Their scientific name is Rubus Spectabilis, and they actually belong to the rose family. I didn’t know that they are actually native to the Pacific Coast region. The First Nations people love these berries and have many uses for them. You can eat the berries fresh, can jams, make jellies, candy, wine or add them like they do to their dried salmon. The shoots and bark also have some medicinal uses such as diarrhea or dysentery.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• salmonberry cuttings or seeds
• pruning shears
• u-shaped wires
• pot
• potting soil
• shovel
• sieve
• mason jar
• compost
• mulch
• organic fertilizer

Although you can grow these berries from seeds, I think I will go the easy route and use cuttings. The best time to collect the cuttings is in the Fall. Make sure the cuttings have at least four buds, and place in a container with potting soil, with two buds below the surface and two above. Leave through winter, making sure to keep the soil moist at all times. They should be ready for planting in your garden by the following autumn.

They do well in locations with full or partial shade. Apply mulch and fertilizer in the Spring and prune your berry bush during the winter to boost its growth. Remember to water with at least an inch of water every week, especially when berries are setting or ripening. Salmonberry bushes can grow to a height of about 6 feet.

You can follow step by step instructions on Home Guides blog, here…

How To Grow Salmonberries

You can watch the video below on what are salmonberries…

You can watch the video below on growing salmonberry in Santa Monica…

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