Blackberry varities

[stdkls28]

I just purchased a vine of Apache blackberries...anyone have any information and/or experience with this varietal?

 

[e-wine]

stdkls28,

Let me know how it does in Houston. Per the information I have, Apache is the best producing of the Arkansas thornless. It was released in 1999, is erect and is reported to require at least 800 chill hours. White druplet and sunburn sometimes present problems. It seems to be resistant to orange rust and rosette disease. I don't have any information regarding resistance to anthracnose. BTW, which part of Houston are you in? I'm in Galveston County.

e-wine

 

[stdkls28]

I'm hoping it does great since I picked it up at Houston Garden Center...lol Yes I found some of that same information...didn't know about the 800 chill hours so i'll be taking it out of garage to let it get some cool air. I am in the Katy area of Houston.

 

[toddrod]

I had planted some Apache plants a couple of days ago. After doing more reresearch I have found that in my area, deep in S. Louisiana, That Kiowa and Shawnee grow and produce the best of the thorny. I ordered 10 Kiowa due to the continue problem I have with coons in my grapes. For the thornless, Natchez and Oauchita are the best because of their relatively low chill hour requirements. I am putting in 2 each of these and are available from Home Depot and Lowes in 1/2 gal and 1 gal pots.

 

[bob1]

I set out Apache. 2 year old plants. Should I go ahead and prune off the 2 year old cane after the new cane gets up good couple inches?

 

[Sacalait]

Cut all shoots to the ground after the fruiting season. This is the recommendation from the LSU Ag. center.

 

[mmadmikes1]

I laughed so hard when thinking about people planting blackberries. Here everyone tries to kill them. They over run everything. But make great wine, pies and jam. Move North

 

[Runningwolf]

I laughed so hard when thinking about people planting blackberries. Here everyone tries to kill them. They over run everything. But make great wine, pies and jam. Move North

...and elderberries

 

[bob1]

I have always picked wild ones, last year went and picked some tame ones and when 1 one gallon bucket was full in less than 20 min I decided I was planting some. So far the wine taste the same. So I need mine up and out the ground .
Oh and I have 6 gal instead of 3 gallon they make a big difference.

 

[stdkls28]

My Apache are going to be sparce this year due to it being a new vine, recently transplanted, and rust caused me to cut it back to only a few leaves but i think i caught it in time. It has since taken off and has many vines and leaves not but only a few blossoms. We'll see how those do and prepare for next year.

 

[bob1]

you know waiting on grape vines and berry bushes for 3 or 4 years is worse than waiting on wine to get ready.

 

[toddrod]

I had planted some Apache plants a couple of days ago. After doing more reresearch I have found that in my area, deep in S. Louisiana, That Kiowa and Shawnee grow and produce the best of the thorny. I ordered 10 Kiowa due to the continue problem I have with coons in my grapes. For the thornless, Natchez and Oauchita are the best because of their relatively low chill hour requirements. I am putting in 2 each of these and are available from Home Depot and Lowes in 1/2 gal and 1 gal pots.

So, just an update to this since they are producing right now. The Ouchita variety is just loaded down with huge flavorful berries, followed closely by Natchez. The Apache looks anemic compared to these 2 and I will probably try to replace them next year. I have picked 4 gallons of fruit from 6 plants so far and you can not even tell I have picked.

 

[tatud4life]

I planted a Navaho, a Ouchita, an Arapaho, and. Natchez this year. I don't think I will have any fruit. One plant has a couple of berries trying to come out, but I don't think I will get anything until next year.

 

[Sparky]

I've got Kiowa. The best year I ever had was 28lbs from 4-5 plants. Last year, I only got 4lbs. This year is setting up to be a decent year, approaching 10lbs, with another pound or two on the canes. Next year is setting up to be better with all the primocanes I have this year.

 

[BobF]

I planted 36 Navahos last fall. They potted, 2 year old plants each with a single, spindly cane.

I had prepared 3 60' berms/rows for them. They were planted 4' apart with extra space in the middle and ends of the rows. My original plan was to prune out the floricanes this year after new primocanes started.

These things are growing crazy! The primocanes ended up growing with such vigor before I pruned anything that I decided to leave most of the floricanes to see what would happen. Looks great so far - quite a few berries and a ton of new canes that are already ready to be tipped.

These are an upright, thornless variety so I installed a simple trellis system. 3 t-posts and two electric fence wires for each row. One wire at 2' and the top wire at 44". The new canes are sturdy enough without support, but we get some wicked winds here. The trellis is to provide support for heavy wind and to tie in laterals, which I'm planning to let grow without pruning for part of them. I've read two different approaches to laterals; let grow and tie in, or prune to 18". I'll see next year which works best for this variety in this area.

Overall I'm happy with this variety, but wild is the only thing I have to compare them to.

Speaking of wild, in this area wild blackberries are considered weeds - they are everywhere. I planted blackberries because I've too many seasons where the rain spigot gets turned off about two weeks before the berries are ripe. I figure cultivated berries will be more reliable and require less donation of blood to thorns, ticks and chiggers.

The estimated crops for these are 10 - 30# per plant. I planted 36 so I can mange for max, but still have better than 150# if I only get half of the lower estimate. IOW, I want to ensure more berries than I can use

I'm taking the same approach with elderberries.

I'll add pics when I get a chance ...

 

[toddrod]

Another update, I am at 50lbs of berries, picked and frozen, from 8 plants and I bet I have 2 more 5gal buckets left on the plants.

 

[Deezil]

The Ouchita variety is just loaded down with huge flavorful berries, followed closely by Natchez. The Apache looks anemic compared to these 2

This just caught my eye... Is it the plant itself that looks anemic? Were they (Apache) planted at the same time as the other 2 varieties?

If you just planted them, i'd give them another year before ripping them out, personally.

I just wonder because i picked up some Apache this year, but we have different chilling hours being in different parts of the country... Could have something to do with it if all 3 varieties were planted at the same time..

Made my heart sink a little, just curious

 

[toddrod]

Deezil - these are all 2nd yr plants. The Apache just did not put out many flowers at all this yr compared to the other two. With 50 plus pounds of berries in the freezer, I can afford to leave everything as is for another year to give each variety a fair shake. As for the chill hours, we did have a very warm winter this yr with very few days below 45 degrees.

 

[Deezil]

Yeah sounds like it might be the chilling hours requirement then.. Those other varieties are between 200-400ish hours while apache is like 600-800 if i remember right..

Dont have issues with chill hours here, just made my stomach knot up for a few minutes

 

[toddrod]

One thing I can say about the Apache is that I have a new cane that is 7ft tall right now, Tha Natchez has some that are 4ft, and the Ouchita has a couple that are 12 inches at best.