Arapaho

History

Arapaho is a modern blackberry variety and was developed by the University of Arkansas and released in 1993.

Arapaho characteristics

• Gardening skillBeginner
• Fruit persistenceRipens over a period
• Self-fertile?Self-fertile
• Pick seasonVery early
• PruningPrune hard
• Country of originUnited States
• Period of origin1950 - 1999

More about blackberry bushes

Blackberries are one of the easiest soft fruits for the beginner, and an essential component of the kitchen garden. If your experience of blackberry-picking consists of painful encounters with monster thorny wild bushes in hedgerows you will be pleased to know that most modern garden blackberry varieties are either entirely thorn-less or the thorns are far less prolific than their wild cousins. 

Regular pruning is important - but just once a year, and very simple. Blackberry bushes produce new shoots each year, known as primocanes, and these bear berries the following (second) year, when they are known as floricanes. The objective of the annual pruning is therefore to ensure you have a steady supply of these one and two year shoots. The main time for pruning is mid-winter. Start by removing dead canes, and all the second year canes which have fruited the previous summer (the floricanes). Then thin-out the primocanes - the strong new green shoots which grew but did not fruit the previous summer.- and reduce their height to about 1m, and remove any side shoots.. These will become the fruit-bearing floricanes the following summer. If you wish you can also carry out a second pruning in late summer, after the harvest, when you can remove all the floricanes which have finished fruiting.

Wild blackberries have a trailing growth-habit, as do some garden varieties, and these do best if trained on a trellis to keep the canes off the ground, allowing 3m per plant. However many new garden varieties have upright canes, which do not require support. These varieties and can be planted 80cm - 100cm apart.

All our blackberry varieties are naturally self-fertile, so you only need one plant in order to produce fruit, and this will provide enough fruit for occasional fresh blackberries in season. If you intend to make blackberry jam and other delicacies then you would typically plant 5-10 bushes.

Blackberries do best when planted in full sun in a sheltered location, and in well-drained soil. They prefer slightly-acidic soils but will readily tolerate neutral or slightly alkaline soils. The most important thing is to avoid planting in situations where the plants are water-logged over the winter.

All blackberries are cold-hardy in UK conditions and can be grown throughout the UK.

Blackberries are a good choice for the organic or no-spray kitchen garden because they are usually problem-free and produce good crops over a period of several weeks without the need for pesticides and insecticides.