Rabbiteyes did well with the exception of some leaf fungus problems from the very wet spring we had. I only fruited 3 varieties and Brightwell was hands down the winner of the Rabbiteyes. The fruit was very sweet and you eat them as soon as they changed color while the others were a guessing game as to when to pick them. They had to stay on the bush at least 2 weeks to sweeten up.

Souther High Bush grew well but fought thrips from spring till now. In the last few weeks I'm seeing some powdery mildew on 3 varieties of SHB but the others are spotless. Spring time should be off the chain as far as berries go!

I've got a lot of pics so bear with me. My whole goal is to see what varieties perform well in my area and then thin them out to only the best ones in the next few years. So far I've been lucky as all of them have grown well but a lot are still in their first year. Only time will tell.

RABBITEYES

Woodard 3 years old, nice plant but berry quality isn't very impressive.

Brightwell 3 years old, good sweet berries.

Beckyblue 3 years old, berries are good if left on plant at least 2 weeks

Blue Gem 2 years old will fruit next spring.

Alapaha 2 years old but still having a hard time establishing. If this plant doesn't take off next spring it's a gone.

Austin 2 years old and will replace the Alapaha in the raised bed if it doesn't take off.

SOUTHERN HIGH BUSH

Bountiful Blue 3 years old, had to cut this plant back severely last spring due to stem blight for the nursery but seems to be doing fine now except for a touch of powdery mildew on some of the lower leafs. Good sized berries and my sons favorite for taste. Getting some fall color already.

Windsor 2 years old and a 1 year old, will fruit for the first next spring.

Gulf Coast 3 years old, had to cut this plant back to the ground last spring also due to stem blight for the nursery. I thought I would loose this one too but it came back. Berry quality is okay. Good flavor but a little mushy for my taste.

Sunshine Blue 3 years old, cool plant, easy to grow and real confidence booster. Puts out a lot of medium sized berries with good flavor and firmness. Fire red in fall but a paint to prune. Very twiggy plant that requires very hard pruning in feb and after harvest. Berry size is good if pruned hard in feb, small berries if not.

Emerald 3 years old, 2 years old, and 1 year old. This plant is a beast and grows at I controlled rates. I highly recommend this plant for our area. Heavy producer, good berries and very sturdy. One of my favorites.

Southmoon 3 years old and 1 year old. Will fruit for the first time this spring.

Sweetcrisp both 2 years old. The smaller one took awhile to take off for some reason so that's why there is such a size difference. Can't wait to taste these. Suppost to be the best from what I've read.

The rest of the plants are 1 year old and will fruit this spring.

Jewels

Primadonna

Abundance

Misty

Sharp blue

Spring high

Snow Chaser

Unknown variety from Florida Hill Nursery

Scintilla

3 wire trellis of Tupi and Kiowa blackberries. Kiowa wasn't very impressive for me on taste. Most were very sour even after letting them get dull and soft. Haven't had home grown Tupi yet but will this spring so I got my fingers crossed that they are sweet.

That's all I got. I can't wait till next spring!!!

But you seem a little short on plants. Want some of my extras??

Fruitnut, I don't want anymore and I believe I still owe you a few. I need to get rid of a Jewel, abundance, primadonna and Emerald if your still interested? I've got 2 or 3 of those varieties and really need to thin the herd alittle. If we get another drought like we had the year before I won't have enough rain water to go around.

The plants look great. Sure glad we don't have this thrips here. I just received 26 new varieties of fig cuttings on Monday. Try the peaches....they are so rewarding as they grow so darn fast.

Thanks a million but I have too many as well. Your plants really are magnificent. I let up on mine this year and with the thrips damage they look pretty tough. But I'll get after things next year and they'll probably bear OK.

NorthG, Maas Nursery in Seabrook usually carries decent plants but they are a little pricey. You could swing by my house and buy a few of mine. I need to get rid of some anyway. As far as varieties you can't go wrong with Emerald, Sunshine Blue and Jewel for Southern High Bush. For rabbiteyes any variety will work as long as the chill hours are 400 and belowe. I've only fruited 3 rabbiteyes to date but that will change soon. Rabbiteyes are a little easier to take care of than SHB so that would probably be the way to go. If you get 3 rabbiteyes, 2 of them need to be brightwell as they are outstanding. You will need at least one other for pollination and Beckyblue or Bluegem will fit the bill.

Blueboy this good peach for your area and get in dwarf. My tree made first fruit in April 20th this year 15 peaches planted January 2012 out pot I stake tree after leaned over first wind. Taste find as any Georgia Peach a little bit green around pit still taste good green but sweet. They make before brown rot starts. Its half size full grown tree now small inside open vase shape if do open vase shape make small 2 foot a plenty through center.

Thanks,

Robert R.
Wharton, TX

I planted Natchez in 2011 and they produced like crazy in 2012...I had 4 to 5 gallons of berries on a short 15 ft. row. Problem is that they OVER PRODUCED to the point of not sending up new canes to replace the original planting. I have found out the hard way that the Natchez needs a lot of pruning in its first year of production to keep it from over producing and allow for better root establishment.

I also planted Triple Crown Blackberries in 2011....they grow like CRAZY...! Lots and lots of vines...but not a single bloom. Pretty sure we in zone 9 do not get enough CHILL hours for them to produce berries here.

Thanks,

RR
Wharton, TX

So, is Tupi a trailing blackberry that needs to be trellised..?

Tupy Blackberry is a thorny, floricane fruiting, erect blackberry suited for the fresh market. It is particularly popular in the low-chill production areas of Mexico and should perform well in low-chill areas of the US. It has medium-large fruit, averaging 7-9 grams/berry. Flavor is somewhat similar to that of cultivars developed in Arkansas.

About my 1,000 Kiowa I planted in 2001 They are Great berry Big we harvested a lot large berries the shipping house had certified scales to weigh grams I took 2 biggest I could find largest weight was 32 grams smaller one weight was 28 grams both berries were 3 bite fruit. I stay in field as much as possible and have feast on some large berries small those 2 they where 2 bite berries.
I had 5,000 Chickasaw planted and they did have highest fruit production of any I saw In my visit to larges grower could find Double Blooms a disease flower will eat up on thorny types I'm hoping that want happen to Tupy plants this disease only in lower elevation in other words you face the North and have mountain behind you want have Double Blossom. All thorn-less types want have this disease at lower elevation.

One more father go South from zones 7a and 6b Fewer cane come up from Crown South 1 to 3 canes 7b north 5 cane on large planting up to 8 or 9 canes but only few be that many.

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=92918#SlideFrame_1

Six years of research and development have paid off for pioneering produce marketer Pure Fresh with the first harvest and successful retailing of a new, improved blackberry variety, Stella.

Stella, a medium-sized berry slightly bigger than the popular and flavourful Tupy, has a higher sugar content and longer shelf life than other varieties. The exciting new Pure Fresh blackberry also has a more cylindrical shape for a better, more durable fit in clamshell packaging, a significant benefit for retailers and consumers of the delicate fruit.

The elongated shape of the Pure Fresh Stella allows for better arrangement in the clamshell, minimizing pressure on the high-water content blackberries and preventing bursting and leaking during transit, said Roberto Castaneda Sr., the founder of Pure Fresh and its parent company, Guatemala and Mexico based grower Planesa.
We are very happy, announced Castaneda. We call the blackberry Stella because it is now the star of the Pure Fresh berry program. Stella means star in Italian.

We see a lot of future in it. It is a new and modern variety,Castaneda said.

Pure Fresh is the exclusive importer and marketer of the Stella under the Pure Fresh brand, and Planesa is the exclusive producer of the Stella in Guatemala and Central America.

The Quest for a Better-Shaped Blackberry with Improved Flavor

Planesa has been working on improving blackberry varieties since 1998 with Dr. John R. Clark at the University of Arkansas, which has one of the world's most successful blackberry variety programs, said Castaneda. Clark and Planesa introduced the commercially popular Kiowa variety to Guatemala and the high-yielding Kiowa today accounts for 90 percent of the blackberry volume out of Guatemala, one of the few countries in the world where the Kiowa has been produced successfully, said Castaneda. The Kiowa replaced the Brazos variety which was not as superior to the Kiowa.

Building on Castaneda's philosophy that new and better varieties are the key to staying ahead in the produce business, Planesa sought a blackberry even better than the Kiowa. The innovating company had seen excellent results with the Brazilian Tupy blackberry on its farms in the Mexican state of Michoacan. The international grower began growing Tupy in Guatemala and it has shown some success but yields are lower than those in Mexico. So the search began to find a new berry that would have better yields in the sub-tropical Guatemala climate.

Planesa and the University of Arkansas set up a testing agreement to evaluate several unreleased selections for possible adaptation to Guatemala, said Dr. Clark. This selection was tested by Planesa in Guatemala and found to perform well in the low-chill environment in Guatemala. It is a thornless plant, and produces large, long berries of good quality. Postharvest evaluations have indicated superior postharvest capability compared to Kiowa, a key attribute for shipping a fresh-market blackberry.

..........

The article is incorrect according to Dr. Clark (Univ Ark)....the Stella is thorny and not available in USA.

My tupy loaded with berries and have several plants growing this year.