Ouachita
Prime Ark (I think they sent me the wrong plants, they don’t look or act like PAF)
Ponca
Osage
Caddo
Sweetie Pie
Loganberry
Kiowa
Boysenberry
Tayberry
Marionberry

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I planted these 11 different types of hybrids and blackberries February 2021 and have had a chance to taste all of them. I’ve have them on a drip irrigation watering every other day. The adult leaf-footed bugs have swarmed the berries taking about half of the berries, they don’t seem as bad today, maybe they already mated, laid eggs and the adults are dying? For some reason most of the berries seem to not fully ripen on some blackberries, I don’t know if that’s because of the bugs or they don’t like the temps and humidity.

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I’ve actually decided to remove last years canes with the fruit still on since they don’t taste good for the following: Sweetie pie, Kiowa, Caddo, Ponca and Osage. I’ve lost 2 out of the 5 Ponca plants that died so I’m cutting down the other 3 before really getting to taste a ripe one but they just don’t seem to want to rippen?

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The Marionberry was awesome but the bugs destroyed the soft flesh berries and they seemed to only fruit on the tips of the canes? I let them grow to 10’ long last year so I’m cutting the new growth this year to 6’ and hoping for more canes. I will plant sunflowers next year to see if they will attract the bugs away from the Marionberry or I might remove them next year if the bugs eat them all.

Other than the Marionberry the only other blackberry I seem to like is the Ouachita which is the most vigorous plant I have and the berries are so much sweeter then the others. They seem to be the last berries to ripen out of the 11 I have and I still have a lot more to come. I wonder if they taste the best to me because the bugs are not as bad now and they are able to fully ripen? Even with a little red they are still sweeter then the others?

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I don’t know if I should give the other varieties another year to see what they taste like. That will only work I think If I can control the insect problem. Or should I just replace them all with Ouachita since they are a later ripening berry which the bugs might be dying off before they ripen and I love the taste? I just hope they sent me the correct plant and not mixed up the order like the PAF.

I really don’t know what these berries are supposed to taste like? In your opinion is the Ouachita one of the best tasting blackberries from the list above?

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The picture below are my Ouachita frozen: