Hi Naomi, I removed my blackberry 10'x50'patch last year and I don't have any pictures. I grew a few thornless blackberries in with the others. The blackberry plants that grow this far south are semi-erect. That means that they grow in a weeping bush style that does not need to be supported. Yes, they need to be planted about 3' apart in rows 5'feet apart. Blackberry plants will pop up else where. I have to say that I was not pleased with the thornless plants because they did grow as hardy as the others. Also, the thorns help to keep the squirrels and birds away. After harvest in May the plants need to be cut down to about 5"-6" high. That's where the thorns made that annual chore something to not look forward to. I removed the patch to make less work for myself. But, last month I put a couple of dozen of blueberry bushes in their place. So much for less work.

I have the Apache, and have been harvesting berries for months now. Mine ripen in summer, obviously, and I cut them back in fall.

They are against my old dog runs, reach up around 4' and do curve downward and outward. I much prefer the thornless over thorny, especially since I don't have to worry about hardiness in zone 10 (G). I am a klutz, so having thorny plants means I will hurt myself. I tore out my Raspberry plants because those needle-sharp thorns were too nasty to deal with.

They are quite easy to control, I just tie up any canes that hang over the lawn. I haven't had any critter problems, except for Cardinals-they love the berries.

I plan on buying more of them this fall, since mine have not spread much, and I'd like to fill up the entire length of the 30' runs with the berry patch.

No pictures now, since the wire fence behind them is currently overgrown with Jasmine vines and looks messy!

Lisa

Do you cut back all the canes or just the older growth?
Thanks,
Ariel

Ariel,
I completely remove the canes that have fruited, and prune back the new canes to about 2' long. Then they send out side shoots.

They sure are tasty! I had several handfulls today for breakfast, from one plant. Many more are still in the red stage.

Lisa

Thanks for the info! I'm going to go ahead and plant some this fall in that area and give the plants a good 4' of space in between mine and my neighbor's yard. I can't wait to order plants soon!

Lisa- how long of a harvest period do you get with your plants? Sounds like a good long while if they are still producing in August. Very cool!

Naomi