Apache Thornless Blackberry Bush

Blackberries are among the easiest of the berry bushes to grow, and they crop early, giving a generous yield of juicy berries. But older types, and wild ones, are viciously thorny, so picking is a nasty chore, and pruning them is a battle. Now there is the Apache Thornless Blackberry, and with no thorns, picking is fun, even for children. The simple annual pruning is easy too – so plant a blackberry bush and enjoy home-grown berries fresh from the garden.

This berry is a complex hybrid plant created in a special berry-breeding program at the University of Arkansas, by Professors John Reuben Clark and James N. Moore, in the 1990s. It was patented in 2001, because of its highly-superior qualities. This plant has very large berries – bigger than almost any other variety. They stay large right to the end of the season, and each bush yields between 5 and 7 pounds of shiny black berries, one of the highest yielding blackberries around.

Growing Apache Thornless Blackberry Bushes

The Apache Thornless Blackberry begins to ripen its first berries around mid-June and continues producing fruit for a full five weeks – a delicious start to the summer. The berries are shiny black, and almost 2 inches long. The fruit is so sweet – the berries contain almost 11% sugar – that they can be eaten straight from the bush. That way you get the maximum dose of all those vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Children adore them, and with no thorns even small children can pick their own. Blackberries are a wonderful addition to a fruit salad, and they can be baked into delicious pies and crumbles, alone or with other fruits, such as apples. They also make rich jams and preserves.

Growing on a Fence or Wall

The Apache Thornless Blackberry is a large bush, with strong canes that grow 5 to 8 feet tall in a single season. Even so, they are so strong and erect that a trellis is not necessary, although in a smaller garden using some support is a good way to reduce the space taken up by your bush. Spread out and tie the canes to a sunny fence or wall, or you can make a simple support with strong posts driven into the ground, and two wires stretched between them, at 2 and 4 feet above the ground. Bend down the canes at the end to attach the tip to the wire – doing this increases the yield of fruit. If you grow the bushes without support, shorten the new shoots back to 3 ½ feet tall at the end of the growing season. This encourages prolific flowering on a more compact plant.

Planting and Initial Care

The Apache Thornless Blackberry grows in a wide range of soils, from sands to clays, and does best in a well-drained loamy soil. Enrich poor soils with organic material before planting, and as a mulch over summer. Water regularly in the first season, and after that during dry spells. These tough plants will perform well even with minimal care. They will grow in full sun, and even in partial shade.

Long-Term Care and Maintenance

As soon as your bushes have finished producing their crop for the year, cut out the canes that have fruited down at the base of the plant. Allow the new shoots to grow up over the season, tying them into your fence or wires as they grow. Free-standing plants should be left to grow to their full length, and then cut back to 3 ½ feet tall in fall. These plants are resistant to major diseases, and they rarely suffer from significant pests.

Buying Apache Thornless Blackberry Bushes

Skilled nurserymen are licensed to produce exact copies from pieces of stem, and this is the source of the plants you will buy from us. The genetic features of the original ‘Apache’ plants are 100% preserved by this process. If fruit growing is new to you, grow the Apache Thornless Blackberry – you will be amazed at how easy it is to grow these delicious giant berries at home. This is a very popular variety, and our stocks do not last long. Order now while we are still able to ship to you.