I have two raspberries and an ollalieberry each in large pots. They all produce fruit, but under produce compared to those planted in the ground. Pros - they can be moved and taken with you if needed and easier to contain, cons - more watering required, lower yield.

So it's do-able then. I do prefer to plant them and have room for them, but my concern is the darn blackberries taking over everything. Maybe if I plant them in the ground but use some of that really deep bamboo barrier stuff that would be an option.

What variety of blackberries are you planting that "take over everything"?

What time frame does this happen -- same season or does it take some years?

Most blackberries are very well behaved, they are planted in rows and stay in their row.

I had some Chester Thornless that in their third year were found springing up a good 10 feet away from where I planted them. Those got ripped out in favor of Prime Ark Freedom but even after digging as much as I could find of the roots and spraying roundup on anything I saw pop up over the remainder of last summer, I *still* found pop-ups earlier this month. Aargh! Only their third year, mind you -- to me that doesn't equal a well behaved plant.

Nope, it doesn't. Some of the vigorous varieties can send roots out aways.