Baby Cakes delivers on blackberry promise

New thornless patio-friendly berry offers a lot of fruit in a small space — and can take abuse, too

By Debbie Arrington

Baby Cakes made me a believer.
This new dwarf blackberry can flourish on a Sacramento patio, stuck in an 18-inch pot. It can overcome neglect and limited irrigation, and produce gigantic, flavorful berries on very attractive, well-behaved thornless canes.

I had my doubts. It took two years to reach this conclusion. But Baby Cakes survived and thrived.
I’ve tested hundreds of new plant varieties, most with the promise of some great advancement or wow factor. Rarely did I see results that looked like the photos that came with the seedlings.
Often, that was because of me. These test plants have to cope with some neglect; there's too many of them in an already stuffed garden. They’ll get less than optimum growing conditions, such as too much shade or not enough water. They may get some TLC, too, but only if they're lucky or make an immediate good impression.

Baby Cakes arrived in a dwarf backyard fruit sampler from  Monrovia with mouth-watering photos of huge berry clusters. Developed by the University of Arkansas, this thornless dwarf was billed as "perfect for patio pots." So that's where it went.
Like most blackberries, Baby Cakes bears fruit on second-year canes. It needed patience, too.
Also, Baby Cakes goes dormant in winter, losing its leaves. That meant its pot got pushed to the back of the bunch, and pretty much forgotten.

Rapid growth in spring brought out dozens of large white flowers, set against emerald green foliage. The canes are only 3 feet tall and naturally vertical.
But its pot was still in a corner with spotty irrigation. During April heat, Baby Cakes got burned.
Without water for several days, the leaves turned crisp. I thought the plant was a goner and its baby berries history.
Instead, Baby Cakes recovered. With twice-a-week irrigation, it rebounded and most of the berries matured. It already has  produced almost 2 pints of 1-inch berries, with the promise of a second crop in fall. Healthy new canes are emerging for next year’s berries.
Now Baby Cakes has earned a permanent spot on my patio. I never thought I’d say that about a blackberry bush.