In addition to grapes, I am also training this Arapaho Blackberry on my T trellises. I used to sell this cultivar when I operated a nursery and obtained it in trays of 72 tissue culture from AgriStarts. This particular one was planted out about a year ago. It is evergreen here and has two main crops in late spring and late summer, plus sporadic blooming throughout the year.
Richard, have you or anyone used the TPUPS pruning method for blackberries? I’ve had a time training my thornless blackberries to this but Dr Arlie Powell says this method greatly increases yields. Here is another video with some details.
My problem is that I can’t get the primacane to branch. Maybe some varieties will do this and mine is just stubborn.
Nope. Arapaho has an upright form amenable to training onto a trellis. I’ve also never had trouble with fruit production in Rancho Peñasquitos or here in Vista.
Hi Anne. Dr Powell has a system that appears to work very well for him. The variety he features in his youtube video is Kiowa. It is a trailing blackberry that lends itself to his pruning style. I have walked through his place (Petals From The Past) and it is beautiful. If you are ever nearby I would suggest seeing it. Bill
What variety do you have?
Hey Bill, I wish I knew for certain. They may be Navaho? I picked them up at a plant sale because they were thornless and my grandkids like them. Thought I’d grow some nice organic blackberries that they could pick (reach) without the thorns. Oh my. I put them in my propagation beds until I had a place cleared for them and they took over, LOL. OK I’ll see what happens this year. I do more gardening/preserving than orcharding until last year. Growing edibles is not without problems, but it’s not without its solutions either. 
Having a blackberry morning …
Man your setup is so sweet. I would love a trellis like that for hardy kiwi. I could build that easily enough.
looks like youve got some deficiencies going on, maybe chlorosis, do you think there might be a PH issue?
Last month I applied herbicide to some nearby root suckers and the plant has been complaining about it.
Nice! My Arapaho blackberries are still a couple of weeks from being ripe here in 7B.
Mine are just blooming, but they are still really small so might not develop fruit…
