Blackberry Apache
Rubus ‘Apache’
Characteristics
- Type: Biennial
- USDA Zones: 5 – 9
- Chill Hours: 800
- Height: 5-8’
- Spread: 4-8’
- Spacing: 3-4’
- Sun: Full Sun
- Soil: Well-Drained, Ph 4.5 – 7.5
- Disease Resistance: Orange Rust
Culture
Blackberry Apache is an excellent fruit plant for Texas home landscapes: They are relatively easy to grow in small areas, they tolerate hot Texas summers well, and they bear good nutritious fruit. Thorn-less varieties are easy to harvest, train, and prune. Apache is a hardy thornless blackberry bush variety that is erect, meaning it grows upright, although it may need minimal trellising to keep canes from arching over when fruiting. Apache’s berries are large and glossy black.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Reports show Apache Thornless Blackberry’s fruit to be larger than Arapaho or Navaho with eating and holding characteristics to be better than Arapaho but not quite as good as Navaho fruit. Apache Thornless Blackberry ripens 10 days or more later than the Arapaho Blackberry but earlier than Navaho. Canes of Apache Thornless Blackberry are more erect than other thornless varieties and can be grown without a trellis when primo canes are tipped at 42 inches to control primo cane length and encourage lateral shoot growth.
Problems
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Uses
The flavor of these shiny black fruit makes them an ideal choice for eating fresh or for use in your favorite pies, jams and jellies. Blackberries do not continue to ripen after harvest—their flavor is best when they are fully mature, having changed color from red to glossy black to dull black at maturity. Fruit should be picked every three days to obtain a maximum sugar content. The storage life is only one day without refrigeration.
Information from: Greenwood Nursery, Plantmegreen.com, Hunker.comm Gurneys.com, and Aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu