How to Grow Apache Blackberries

A productive, cultivated blackberry patch without the thorns is possible when you grow 'Apache' blackberries (Rubus 'Apache'). This thornless blackberry cultivar grows 4 to 10 feet tall and is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9. 'Apache' blackberries fruit in summer. This cultivar, developed by the University of Arkansas, produces abundantly.

'Apache' blackberries grow best in full sun. To see how much sun a bed is getting, observe it throughout a sunny day. Full sun means the spot gets six hours or more of direct sunlight per day. Grow this blackberry cultivar in a spot that drains well, ideally with loamy or sandy loam soil. Avoid any garden areas that have standing water after a rain. Space this cultivar 5 feet apart in rows 5 feet apart if you are growing multiple shrubs.

Unlike some sprawling blackberry varieties, 'Apache' has an upright growth habit that doesn't require trellising.

Water once a week with 1 to 2 inches of water from early spring when new growth starts until the vines start to produce fruit . Once berries start to form, increase watering to 4 inches per week until the end of the harvest. To tell if you are watering sufficiently, dig a small hole near the blackberry bed and feel the soil. It should be damp 6 inches deep. It is important not to let the soil dry out 6 inches deep when growing blackberries.

Water the soil rather than the leaves. This helps minimize disease problems and puts the water where it's needed, at the roots.

Damp weather can be deceptive and the soil can dry out even if it looks damp and drizzly outside. Put a rain gauge near the blackberries to get an accurate reading on how much rain is falling.

Spread a 4- to 6 inch-deep layer of mulch over the blackberry bed

in late fall. If you miss the late fall mulching, apply it in early

spring. Use seed-free straw, shredded bark, wood chips or seed-freehay.

Fertilize 'Apache' blackberries once during the growing season, either in late spring or early summer. Scatter 1/4 to 1/2 pounds of balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer on the soil around each plant. Gently scratch the fertilizer into the soil surface. Water as soon as you finish applying the fertilizer with 1 to 2 inches of water.

Help the fertilizer get to all the feeder roots by spreading it over the entire area from near the base of the outer canes out to the area under the outer branch tips. 

Avoid getting fertilizer on the stalks or leaves.  

To avoid watering too often, schedule the annual spring fertilizer application to coincide with a regular weekly watering. 

When ripe, 'Apache' blackberries have a deep, glossy purple black color. The large berries turn juicy and plump. Pluck the berries from the vine as they ripen and gently place them in a bucket or basket. Eat them fresh, make them into preserves and freeze the extras.