Blackberry blossoms keep blooming

Almost a month ago we posted on blackberry blossoms and a month from now it would be no surprise to find more blackberry blossoms. In the picture below you can see well formed fruit, blossoms and blossom buds. Ever popular with bees, there are four bees in the same camera shot.

bees and blackberry blossoms

A great source of pollen – blackberries

The bee in this picture is loaded with blackberry pollen. Blueberries, in contrast, produce much less pollen.

loaded with pollen

First Blackberry blossoms

Blackberries are widely available in the area. They are sought out by bumblebees and honeybees. The blossoms open gradually so foraging can extend over quite a time. A check in a couple of weeks should give us an idea of the duration of blossoming.

blackberry blossom

Thornless blackberries

Blossoms on the thornless blackberries follow the blueberry pollination. The honeybees are enthusiastic for this plant which is prevalent in this area. Bumblebees show no interest.

Thornless blackberry blossoms

The last of the blackberry blossoms

In the first picture there is a Carniolan honeybee in a blackberry blossom. Compare that with the light coloured Italian honeybee in the second photo. Thanks to our expert photographer, in a rare shot we have the two bee strains side by side on the same blackberry blossom.

  

Carniolan honeybee

italian honeybee

bee friends

Roadside blackberries

In southern British Columbia, as elsewhere, roadsides are often covered with blackberries that have just come into bloom. This provides an excellent foraging opportunity for bees. The most common blackberry has a large oval leaf and it’s fruit is large and sweet. The berries make excellent jelly.

      roadside blackberry

Around the farm perimeter there is another blackberry with a quite different leaf whose fruit is not so large or flavourful.

      blackberry….click to enlarge.

The blackberries come at a time when the black locust are still in blossom, there is a abundance of clover and there are still some blueberries in blossom. It’s honey flow time!

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Blackberries-a sea of white

The blackberries that have spread in Pitt Meadows have many more blossoms than the usual blackberry. They are thornless and the fruit is small and not very tasty. The blossoms come early, just about at the end of the blueberry pollination. They can spread quickly sending up new shoots a long way from the parent plant. They don’t expand by layering like the usual thorned blackberry.

                 click to enlarge

                     Blackberries in bloom

Notice in the first picture the upright stems for next season. They don’t arch over and layer like other blackberries. In the second picture you can see that there are many more blossoms waiting to open.

The buzz of the honeybee can be heard near the blackberries but bumblebees don’t seem to show any interest.