Freedom Arc Blackberry
- Thread starter ktrain
- Start date
Figgerlickinggood
Well-known member
That looks great. The beavers won't want them but the deer probably will. Good thing you have the chicken wire.
BNaula1
Well-known member
Looking good! I have about 4-5 blackberry bushes myself, I found a Florida weave trellis to be easiest for me. Helps me prune a lot easier and also better to keep the fruiting canes up & easy access to the berries. 
Never heard of freedom arc though, may have to give it a try! Here’s a picture of last summer, one of my bushes which sent up a bunch of suckers from soil.
Never heard of freedom arc though, may have to give it a try! Here’s a picture of last summer, one of my bushes which sent up a bunch of suckers from soil.
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ktrain
Moderator
Very nice!Looking good! I have about 4-5 blackberry bushes myself, I found a Florida weave trellis to be easiest for me. Helps me prune a lot easier and also better to keep the fruiting canes up & easy access to the berries.
Never heard of freedom arc though, may have to give it a try! Here’s a picture of last summer, one of my bushes which sent up a bunch of suckers from soil.
I put that rope up last minute, I have to rebuild that old bed so I will be putting up some support then.
The Freedom Arc are really really good, thornless too.
I have some others coming from Gurney's, the Ponca Black berries.
Think I ordered 4...should be shipping out soon.
ktrain
Moderator
I had to hurry up and put that fence and chicken wire up in one day....the deer and rabbits were having a picnic in there. lol
BNaula1
Well-known member
Yeah I made the mistake of putting no suppose first year I got them haha I had canes and berries all over the floor. Insects were having a blast
I guess that’s how it went from 1ft to 8ft long lolPonca are very sweet, good variety! I believe I saw ProFig (Brian Melton) selling them on his site and I was tempted
SpiritFarmVa
Well-known member
Are they Prime ark freedom?
If so they are primocanes which is nice to get that late summer/ fall crop.
ktrain
Moderator
Yes, the tag just says Freedom Arc Primocanes. But yes that's the correct name.
And yes they are very good, they stay green all winter long..just not a lot of foliage.
SpiritFarmVa
Well-known member
Since we have so many floricane blackberries we manage the prime ark freedoms only for the late crop.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
ktrain
Moderator
I'm pretty excited to get the Ponca variety, supposed to be a good one too.
Then my wife is making me focus on more Raspberries. lol
ktrain
Moderator
It was twice this size and the tallest one was about 7'.
I trimmed out the older ones and seen some new ones already emerging.
The berries are very sweet and so good, and big!
TorontoJoe
Administrator
My wife is crazy for raspberries but their not top of list for me
I need to check out the specs on this one to see if it likes growing in the frozen tundra....
ktrain
Moderator
Like I stated previously, it stayed green all winter long.
We don't get quite as cold as y'all up there...but pretty cold hardy.
SpiritFarmVa
Well-known member
We have Ponca too. We are a few last year and they were definitely sweet. We have Anne golden and Joan j red raspberries. The Japanese beetles love the raspberries.
SpiritFarmVa
Well-known member
Aren’t you zone 6? I think the blackberries would work fine. If it’s too cold a primocame variety would be the choice since it fruits on new growth, so dieback doesn’t matter.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
On paper I'm Z6 but more like 7 or even 7B at my house. I'm so close to Lake Ontario that it buys me a few degrees.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
Apparently they're good to z4. I'm good there. Now just need to see if I can find them available up here. The nurseries up here can be a bit sparce sometimes.
ktrain
Moderator
I can always ship you some. lol
Prime Ark Freedom are good berries. I grew them for the first time last year and got tons of berries.
2 crops per year, and thornless. A winning combo!
The only drawback for me is they are sensitive to prolonged heatwaves and will dry up a bit if exposed to our hot sun.
2 crops per year, and thornless. A winning combo!
The only drawback for me is they are sensitive to prolonged heatwaves and will dry up a bit if exposed to our hot sun.