What I meant is how I tip primocane bearing varieties, like PA Freedom, PA45, PA Traveler; and floricane bearing, like Natchez, Caddo, Osage, etc.
For floricane bearers, I tip the new canes at 4ft. For primocane bearers, I tip the new canes at 2ft.
What Wolfman does to his Freedom’s is probably right. @k8tpayaso has more experience with them than I do. I am bad at keeping my canes under control anyway.
Ohhhhh makes sense. Thanks!
I’m in 8a. That may change. My primocanes usually ripen around the first of July.
Yes. After they die—or at least become useless then prune them out but don’t cut them before they bloom and fruit.
That’s the goal. They will get away from you fast! And many times the laterals will go straight up too. Height requires support and length requires support. Mine are outgrowing me as we speak!
Bob is correct on pruning. Primocane fruiting plants are pruned at 2 feet because you must prune early. Primocane fruit on the upper third of plant so by pruning you make multiple leaders that will have more fruit than just one. If you wait till 3 feet to prune you could delay ripening till after first frost. With floricanes you can prune later. It is to grow laterals. I do it at 5 feet. I prune laterals at 2 feet as it makes for neater and easier to harvest fruit. Usually at the end of the season or before they start growing in early spring. Early spring is probably the best time. As when you prune anything trees, brambles they lose some winter hardiness for a couple weeks. Getting tip dieback? Try pruning in the early spring instead of the fall.
i have nelson blackberries i started from plugs last spring from fedco. they produced several canes each last summer that should fruit this summer. they are floricane fruiting. should i have pruned those floricanes when they were primocanes? i know in warmer climes they do to increase fruit set but frosts kill the canes as early as mid sept. here. am i correct in leaving them alone?
I would not prune them the first year. This year if the new canes look strong and big, prune them this year. Glad you brought this up. It’s best to wait till well established. Also if in a short season zone and your primocane fruiting plants ripen too late you could try not pruning them. You will limit fruit but some berries is better than none. Pruning does delay ripening on primocane types. Sometimes primocane fruiting blackberries or raspberries fruit late the first year so give them a couple years.
iirc, the height at which john clark’s team topped PAF was around 20 inches.
and in the U of Ark ponca video, the recommendation is to top around shoulder height, so maybe at about 5 feet, unless dr. clark is a giant or dwarf. 
it also seems the ponca primocanes don’t need to be topped until after the floricane harvest, so this should make cane management more. . . manageable. (with PAF, the main canes and laterals grow out of control when you turn away for a second.)
it also seems that berries grow better when dr. clark plays guitar for them.
i meant after they are established. ive read most people prune the primocanes so they produce laterals the 1st year to get more fruit in the 2nd year. if theres no primocane fruit anyway it should be ok to still do this? theyre planted in a raised bed which i mow on both sides so i need to control thier length anyway.
I have an electric and acoustic, which one should I use? Do they respond better to classical or rock? Or classic rock? Guess I’d need to get a portable solar powered amp if I used electric.
my father swore country/ western was best for the plants. 
Definitely rock music here in the deep south. If the plants don’t sway and jiggle when it is playing, they are not getting enough stimulation. 
Yes what you want to do. Prune primocane to get laterals. Some ant the most berries possible. I want the highest quality. A plant can only produce so much sugar. You want it in100 berries or 200 berries? The former will produce larger and sweeter berries. You can accomplish this by pruning at five feet laterals at two feet or even less. Some do 16 inches.
I don’t play music for them but found threatening them works well too! 
Play 'em some Skinnerd!
That’s odd for them to be fruiting after just planting them, they’re not supposed to fruit on the primocanes. I probably wouldn’t let them, it might stunt their growth?
Thanks to all who discussed pruning.
Last year I was not diligent about pruning blackberries. I currently have Triple Crown, Prime Ark Freedom, and, possibly Arapaho. I say “possibly” because it is not thriving.
PAF is marginal for me. When they do bear, they are the biggest and lack that slight astringency of some others. However, in my garden, PAF is not fully winter dormant and not freeze hardy, so they grow then die from frost. I usually get few if any floricane berries as a result. I wanted them for earliness and thornlessness.
In my hands, Triple Crown is excellent. It is vigorous, bears well, nice size berries, good flavor. I could do with fewer or smaller seeds but that is OK. I let them grow too tall, the main trunks are about 6 feet tall and laterals 2 feet, but I think they will bear OK.
I would like to try Ponca but feel a bit leery of the Arkansas types - they are so hyped, always the best thing since sliced bread, but between Arapaho and PAF I just haven’t had great results. Im not sure if Babycakes was theirs, but it was a total loser for me - few berries, the ones that produced didnt develop well, and flavor was not good.
Maybe I should try Ponca. I still have a little space…
I have Triple Crown too, and it is my best tasting and hardy of all my thornless, and that includes PAF, PA Traveler, Osage and Ouachita.
I have similar hardiness issues with PAF.
I wanted to try Ponca and Caddo because they’re supposed to be very good. They came in Monday so I’ll be planting them soon.
The articles describe other traits that are important to me - shortened internodes for a more dwarfed habit, disease resistance, and earliness to avoid spotted wing drosophila. They also claim limited winter injury. However, that will depend on nuances of local climate conditions.
I went ahead and ordered three plants from Pense. I hope they are good - never ordered from them before and it seems a little late to order blackberry plants. Shipping costs more than the plants 
.
Sometimes I look at the cost as, how many boxes of blackberries (or apples, or any fruit) could I buy for that price. Then again, home grown is usually so much better.
Meanwhile I can prep their planned location - protected from deer and already fairly will cleaned up.
The new canes on the Ponca are not fruiting, it’s the 6-8” stubs of the bare root plant that are trying to put out some flowers. Is it a big deal if I allow them to fruit just to get a taste?
