Planting Blackberry Bushes in Fall? Suggested Variety?

[supernnyl]

I live in Atlanta, GA and would really like to plant a couple of blackberry bushes. Can this be done successfully in the fall time of year (late October or early November)? Or does this need to wait until spring?

Also, I'm looking at 3 different varieties: Black Satin, Triple Crown, Arapaho. Are any of these varieties good? Anyone have better suggestions?

Any information will be very helpful and greatly appreciated.

[soil]

I have black satin thornless and plant in the fall zone 7. the things grow like monsters, extremely vigorous, good yields of big tasty berries. though if you cut back on the watering come fruiting time youll get less berries but they will taste WAY better.

[CharlieBear]

If you want thornless, then triple crown or apache (not apacho) are very good choices, but both require something to tie them too or trelis on. We use metal fence posts with wire stretched along it rather than drilled wood posts (cheaper). Triple crown tend to ripen about the same time within a 2 week span. Apache ripen over about 6-8 weeks span. So if you want to eat them fresh rather than freeze or make jam then apache. I find apache to have a slightly higher sugar content. Note, both have skinny canes the first year or so and then become very heavy. You cut the new canes off then the reach about 5 feet tall so they branch out and bear more the following year. Note, you do not get berries off any of them the first year. Triple crown is the "new and improved" chester which is not quite as sweet and bears slightly earlier. Also, triple crown bears towards the end of the range for Apache. We personally found Black Satin to be less sweet than the other two and harder to work with, but not everyone feels the same way.
Definately plant in the spring, if you plant now the roots may rot over the winter before the plant starts to grow again.

[supernnyl]

Ever heard of Arapaho Blackberries?


https://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/11634

[CharlieBear]

It is one of the newest cultivars so, very few people have actually tried it. It is a southern bred berry, so it will require very few chilling hours and will try to bloom very early in the spring. If the bees are not flying because it is still to cold, the crop may be spotty. That is the only real reason I stay away from Apacho, and all the other very early varieties. It is like blueberries, some years the earliest varieties do not set at all and some times they do just fine. When they say they don't have to be trellised that just means that they are not trailing. The same would be said of Chester, Triple crown, apachee and so forth. The reason I trellis or tie them up is to keep the next years growth from heading right straight for the ground and tip rooting in the fall, which distroys the crop, it is great if you want lots of new plants like in the nursery business. By having something to tie to I can tie up the ends so they can't reach the ground.

[Gary350]

I have had the same blackberry plant for 35 years. I don't remember the name, it must be some type of hybrid the berries are the size of a quarter and it has hybrid thorns too. Blackberry plants don't seem to care if the soil if bad or good they still grow fine. Rain or drought it not a problem either. Full sun all day or only 5 hours of full sun is no problem. The plants will spread so they need plenty of room. Everyone has their own way of growing them, some people like them on fences or a trellis. Some people just let them grow in a large bush. Some people grow them like grape vines. I have tried it all and just letting them grow and bush out and spread is much less work and I get more berries than I want. You can mow around them with the lawn mower to keep all the new sprouts cut down if you want. What I have learned in 35 years that works best for me is keep the plants in a row about 20 ft long 4 ft wide. I mow around it to keep it from spreading. Second year canes make fruit then die some people cut out the dead canes but I don't. After about 5 to 7 years I mow only on 3 side so the new growth on one side will grow up and make a new crop. Then I cut down the old crop. I let the new 4 ft x 20 ft crop make berries for about 5 to 7 years then let the whole thing migrate to a new location and cut down all the old plants. If you let it grow wider than 4 ft it is hard to reach the berries. Its not hard to pick 2 ft of each side. Blackberry plants have the ability to make berries until about October right up to first frost but you must be sure to pick EVERY berry. If you miss one berry the plants stop producing. I don't have any trouble picking 5 gallons of berries from my little crop. I planted 2 thornless plants about 5 years ago I don't remember their name either but the way they grow and produce is identical to my old plants and they taste good too.