CoryS

A blackberry plant was ordered for me, today, but I've never tried growing blackberries before. It's a thornless one and was called a University of Arkansas variety [an Apache blackberry plant]. They said it would grow in zones 6-10, makes very large sweet berries [good! I love blackberries], and that they grow on canes but that's all I know... so far. If anybody here grows blackberries, I would really appreciate any information I can get since I really want this plant to survive!

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cherokee_greg

I planted some of these this spring. I also love blackberries. There really not that hard to grow. Here is a link that may help you. I know they like lots of sun and I staked mine with a post on each side and wire running across. They need somthing to climb on. good luck.
How to Grow Apache Blackberries | eHow.com

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LilRaverBoi

We just have ours growing wild in a ditch across the road from our house. You don't really need to do anything special with them....just plant em and enjoy the bounty!

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Jack Daw

Most of the berries (blue, black...) prefer more acidic soils. Don't know how is it with that your cultiavar.

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Abnshrek

I read about that variety on the Texas A&m site i do believe. What you wanna know is it a cane or vining. I'd put in some good fertile soil, and cover it a with a fresh mulch or oak leaves then mulch. :^)

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sunfish

You will get runners with thorns that you will have to cut out.

island cassie

Tony - it is a thornless variety!! Cory - they are easy to grow and the best place in on a boundary fence or similar, so that you can keep the plant dimensions long and narrow as you train the long fruiting vines along the fence which makes for easier harvesting than if you have a big round clump. I am not familiar with your variety but often they are quite vigorous - I used to grow Oregon Thornless and it would cover 30ft of fence easily - another tip if you have enough room, is to train it in one direction one year, then the next year train it in the other direction. This makes cutting out the old fruited vines much easier as they will not fruit the 2nd year and you want to leave the younger vines. The thornless varieties make picking a pleasure so enjoy you delicious berries next year.

sunfish

I guess I was wrong. I have thornless Bosenberry and it gets canes with thorns. Looked it up on the internet and it said this was normal for thornless boysenberry,just cut them out. Thought the same would be true for Blackberry but didn't find any info. on it. So no thorns on thornless Blackberry

Abnshrek

The only problem you have being in a rural area is deer might beat you to you bounty. They eat my in-laws all the time, but they aren't fixing to move them. Just setting up a tree stand.. :^)

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sunfish

One year old tips should be planted in March or April. Two year old transplants maybe planted earlier. Plant the transplants at about the same depth the plant grew at the nursery, covering any white sprouts arising from the crown. Avoid wadding the roots in the planting hole, pruning them back if necessary. Avoid pruning of roots on thornless varieties as they may give rise to thorny suckers if so treated.
I must have pruned the roots when I planted mine. I get lots of thorny suckers.



Thornless berries come in two categories: genetically-bred thornless vs. hormone-induced thornless. The “genetic thornless” berries will be true to type when propagated by pure-bred seedlings, root suckers, or cuttings. The “hormone-induced” varieties remain thornless due to enzymes in their roots – and hence seedlings, cuttings, and sometimes root suckers contain thorns.

CoryS

Greg: I love blackberries more than any berry. Thanks for that link! The next thing I'll need to learn is how to make blackberry jam.

Bryan: I will definitely enjoy the bounty. I'll prolly spend a lot of time in the back yard when it starts making berries!

Jack: Thanks! I will definitely try acidic soil first. If that doesn't seem to work, I can change it.

Abnshrek: Thanks for that! It will be the cane type. I will need to find some mulch, though, since we don't even have any dead leaves here. And you are definitely right about the deer problem. We've spotted those and even coyotes less than 100 feet from the house. We even found a young coyote on the porch. I hope they don't like blackberries. But our dog, Pranks, likes to bark a lot so maybe she'll keep them scared off... I hope!

Sunfish: Thanks for the information on roots and runners! I don't know either but I will definitely watch to see if it sends out any thorny runners. And I'll be sure to dig a very large hole so the roots won't get wadded up. I don't know if it's genetic or hormone type of thornless. I prolly need to find out more about that. Btw, thorns or not, your Boysenberry plant looks great! I love Boysenberry syrup.
I'll be getting the blackberry plant in 7-14 days [and that was a few days ago when it was ordered]. You said it should be planted in March or April. Is it all right to plant it now or what should I do?

Island Cassie: Thanks for the fence idea! We have at least 80 feet of fence where I can grow them so there shouldn't be a problem switching directions... especially if it will make picking easier!

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sunfish

All the information is from web sites. I'm sure you can plant it as soon as you get it.

CoryS

You're definitely right about planting times. I just found out this morning that the earliest time they will ship the Apache blackberries is November so I'll have a long wait for those. But at least I'm learning a lot about growing them so I'll know what to do when they get here.

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brettay

Just a warning about Apache blackberries. They are very prone to UV damage. I have had Apaches for a few years, and whenever we get a heat wave (around 90° and above), the berries which are close to becoming ripe turn brown and dried. The other Arkansas varieties are supposedly much less prone to this problem. This winter I plan to tear out the Apache and replace them with Navaho.

-Brett

Dean W.

Don't know if this is relevant. There is a farm near me that grows them on a 6' high fence. It's kind of nice there cause it's pick your own strawberries or blackberries. You pay by how much you pick.

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CoryS

Brett, thanks! We get hot sun and 90's here a lot in this part of the country. I'll definitely check out the Navaho type since I'll be wanting blackberries that can deal with heat.
Dean, any information that leads to home grown blackberries is relevant information.

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