Since planting these vines two years ago, they are starting to explore in every direction with their vigorous growth. I planted around four vines on a t-post fence, I have been training them and making sure they grow on it instead of trying to leave the fence and start a new blackberry journey somewhere else. As soon as one of these vines reach the ground, they shoot in roots and try to start a whole new plant. So I must be ready to tie them back and train them back into the fence regularly.
I had no idea there were thornless blackberries until about five years ago, I had great success with them where I used to live. So I was glad to start some in my new home. And now they are starting to really produce. Once planted it takes a year or two for them to get used to their surroundings, but once they do get ready!
The size of the vines forming along with their leaves tells me the plant is quite happy.
They tend to fruit in the summer and then again in the fall. Though eating the berries in summer is more recommended. As by the fall many bugs are also feeding on them and some of them can get gross. But you can still find good ones among them and have a tasty treat in the fall.
Soon I will have extra plants to pull up and I can start more vines somewhere else. As every time they reach the ground I will pull them up and use them as rooted plants ready to go. I think I will add them to the fences that encloses my third acre area.
I need to work them more into the middle, it seems the plants on both ends are doing the best. So I work their vines to areas not yet covered.
Eventually I will run out of room on this fence, so it will be good to find a new spot to grow more.
When the winter comes around these plants will drop their leaves and go dormant. But the vines will remain and wait until warm weather comes back around the following year.
The plant seems more resistant to bugs than most, I rarely have to do anything to protect these. Japanese Beetles will be my biggest problem, but that is with nearly every plant..lol almost as bad as a plague of locus.
This must be one of my fastest growing plants, if you have never grown one its hard to imagine. Just has much vigor as the native blackberry plants, but with none of the blood loss..lol
But really glad to have them, I used to climb through wild blackberry groves to collect them, I would get all cut up and my clothes would get torn from all the thorns on the native kind. But picking berries from the thornless variety is much more enjoyable. I also think the thornless berries are much bigger. And just as tasty if not even more delicious.