The photo above was 25 days ago when these were mostly small berries and blooms. These test crops of Prime ark 45 turned out very good! Freedom planted at the same time did not produce berries. Primeark 45 had some large berries even on these smaller plants. The berries started ripening in Late June (ate a few) and are still producing today on July 4th! They may produce up until the time of my main blackberry harvest on July 20th. These are all good signs but we will see what fall brings! These are Very very promising black berries! Flavor and disease resistance have been very good. These look like they will fit my needs extending the blackberry harvest.
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my 5 nelsons i planted as plugs from fedco are now 2ft tall and starting to send out suckers. supposed to be one of the few z3 hardy blackberry available in the US. my canadian blackberries have sent out new primocanes enmasse but no flowers yet on florocanes. dewberries have so far about 20 flowers and also my baby cakes dwarf blackberries so i should be eating at least some fresh blackberries in late summer. 
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@moose71
Fresh blackberries can’t be beat for flavor and it sure sounds like it will only get better for you from here!
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its been a dream of mine to grow them for a long time. there are finally cultivars offered that can tolerate our winters. probably not as good as warmer zone varieties but ill take what i can get.
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How big are the 45’s and how is the flavor? How are the thorns? Are these primocane berries?
My PA Traveler primocanes are starting to bloom, and Freedom primocanes are setting buds. Ouachita is ripening some berries now.
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The berries i had yesterday were about an inch long and plants not overly thorny. Flavor is good and fruit is firm. Plenty of ripe, red, and green berries to extend the season. No new blooms yet. The berries on this other plant were thumbnail sized but slightly fatter and not as long as the ones from yesterday. I think the primeark 45 like it here in Kansas! This plant needs a good weeding , cow manure, and woodchips. Next year this plant may be sending out runners! These primeark45 are not ready to compete with the main crop just yet that ripens in July shown here Blackberries by the gallons. Certainly the 45s are everything my heirloom blackberries are not in terms of ripening times which is exactly what we need!
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my baby cake dwarf blackberries are just blooming also. my dewberries are about 2 weeks to their 1st harvest. man do those things throw some canes! had to build a tressel behind the bed to tie them to. some are 15ft long!
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Here is a berry from my black magic that I planted this spring. It just keeps blooming. I am hoping it really makes a bunch next year.
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Taking photos of the plants soon they are doing fantastic though still very short! My heirloom berries are much bigger and more aggressive. Sure wish the 45 could be crossed with my others.
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my dewberries didn’t produce a lot of berries but they were the size above and had a zingy taste unlike a blackberry. they were very good! my baby cakes had a even bigger berry with a classic blackberry taste. both winners considering they are the 1st. blackberries I’ve been able to grow here. i have 5 nelsons and my wild canadian blackberries that should produce this summer for the 1st time . I’m psyched!
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@moose71
That sounds very promising! Let us know how it goes! Worse case scenario bury those cold sensitive blackberries in wood chips like i do my figs sometimes. Its a lot of work but if you really like something its worth it.
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i tried that for 2 winters with my PAFs under all our snow. they still froze . the nelsons are supposedly hardy to z4a so should be good to go. baby cakes are also z4 but they’re so short that they are completely covered with snow so they are good to go. if i get cane damage on the nelsons i could lay them down if need be but I’m going to need welders gauntlets as they are wicked thorny! like you said if you like something enough…
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I ordered a few Kiowa blackberries to plant this spring. Another thorned variety but a really big berry.
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Prime ark 45 are extremely good berries here in Kansas. Ive worked with them a lot now and highly recommend them. Im going to attempt crosses of these with my heirloom berries if its possible.
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I have tried PAFs, Nelsons, and Darrows here on the edge of zones 3/4. The PAFs I had to cover with large styrofoam blocks and then layers of a rolled insulation. They produced some berries, but most were the fall berries and they ripened too late. When I no longer covered them over winter, that was the end of those. The Darrows sprout up every spring and have spread, but nary a berry after about 5-6 years. So long to those. The Nelsons I haven’t tried protecting. This year they are covered in green berries! Last year the rabbits or deer had chewed the canes enough over winter that the canes died, so last fall I sprayed repellent on them, which seemed to have done the trick. Over the past years, there had been an occasional berry, which had much better flavor than the PAFs. I might try a Baby Cakes, although Burpees says it isn’t recommended for our zone. I also have a wild one from a garage sale if I can remember where I planted it.
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im in z3/4 and my baby cakes have survived and fruited here. got mine i think from jung and they said they were z4 hardy. fruit was way better than the stuff at the store. my nelsons are full of green berries right now. planted as tiny plugs spring of 19’. i should get a decent crop in a month or so. i too tried the P.A.F. same problems. i also have some canadian/ smooth blackberries i found growing in our local park. i planted a row in the yard of them last year. they too are loaded with green berries. these only get the size of a reg.cultivated raspberry but they fruit heavily and are very good. I’m hoping growing them in full sun , in compost the berries might get a little bigger.
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