I have lots of wild blackberry here on my property, but they are not the easiest to get to, and I can't water them. In dry years, they seem to be nothing but seed. I think there are also dewberry, and some golden black raspberries, a few regular black raspberries.

I was wondering if it is very difficult to grow "tame" ones? I don't think I would really want to do rows, but wondering about planting at the edges of the woods where the wild ones used to grow before my Ex started mowing them off years ago.

I adore jam made with them... and there used to be a couple places you could go pick them, but they are now housing developments.. :thumbsdown:

Here is a photo that I took and was used as a banner here.

I grow about 4 different varieties of domestic thornless blackberries and they all do very well for us. They are as easy to grow as the wild ones, but the fruits are massively large in comparison, and much sweeter.

Ouachita and Apache are two good varieties that immediately come to mind. I highly recommend you plant some domestic blackberries and I think they would do very well exactly like you described: planted against the wood edge.

They are easy to grow here in Tennessee. Apache, Navaho, and Chester are some good "thornless" varieties we grow here.

Sounds good! Wonder if the same varieties would grow here in Central Ohio - we used to be zone 5, now they say 6b.

Does anyone have a favorite place to order them?

The domestic blackberries ought to grow perfectly anywhere the wild ones are also found.

I got all mine locally so I can't recommend an online source. Not any nursery in Georgia, that's for sure.

Georgia?

on Georgia fruit nurseries in my opinion.

But there are many other great ones out there.

Oh! Ok... I think my favorite local nursery has plants each spring. Not sure where they get theirs from. All their stuff is first class, so the berry plants should be good. Of course, they are terribly expensive, but I figure I am paying for quality.

Didn't think about ordering through the mail.

Those erect thornless blackberries are great. First off they don't wander all over the place like the thorney vines do. And geez, thorns on blackberries are positively wicked. So nice to have no thorns!

I ordered mine at Raintree Nursery but I think Starks and Millers also carry them (all mailorder).

Thanks, Rita!

What ever I do, it has to be easy to plant and care for.

Well, thorney is not easy. Thorns on blackberries are horrible. It is so nice to have the thornless types. Much less pruning and such also.

I just bought a Chester thornless blackerry bush

Juli, it was good for your zone. I got it at Tractor Supply.

Thanks. We have a TSC near us - I just bought some wild bird food there this morning. I'll check there in a month or two, when they should start getting plants in.

Although I can't imagine planting a blackberry (they are totally invasive in my neck of the woods), the thought of a thornless variety does sound inviting. I made a lovely jam last season by adding about a half cup of rum as I cooked down the blackberries, gave it the name 'Rumbleberry' for fun. Also added a bar of extra dark chocolate to raspberry jam, which also came out well. Both added subtle flavors. My co-worker gave me a jar of peach jam with added vanilla and ginger, very yummy. Fun to experiment.

I love the additions to your jams. Thank you for making me think outside the box when making jam

Deb, I used to have lots of blackberry, and black raspberry bushes growing wild here. But, the guy that was mowing my fields mowed off a lot of them and I didn't realize it. We have not had much rain in the summer the last few years, and what berries we do get are so small, hard and full of seeds. I was thinking if I got some "tame" ones, put in the edge of the woods where the wild ones used to grow, they would be near enough to the house I could water them if need be.

We enjoy making unusual jam, but most of ours are just combinations of fruits... never would have thought to add chocolate!

Strawberries make a good fruit to mix in. I really like mixing 2/3 strawberry to 1/3 blackberry or even better, black raspberry. Strawberry with red raspberry is the all time favorite around here. I buy a mixture of pluots and plums, the mix those with crushed pineapple.

I hate the seeds in blackberries. When I make pie, I do something odd. I heat the berries enough to run them through a food mill to get the seeds out, then mix that pulp in with apples in the pie. The apples take on the flavor of the berries, and give it some texture so it is not like eating pie made with jam.

Juli, I'm opposite you - the seeds are what make blackberry my favorite jam, with raspberry a close second. I love the crunch. Strawberry is my least favorite, I think because it's so gloppy. Blackberries also bring back my childhood - us neighbor kids would munch on them all day long, often laying boards into the thickets to get to the motherlode in the middle.

My Dad had some of those "old sayings" and he didn't like seeds in berries. He would say to " Waller and Swaller"

Deb, consider getting the newer types of erect thornless blackberries. They are very well behaved, not invasive at all. I have a small yard and could never have anything that did not stay put. I love the taste of blackberries. I even think the spring flowers are so pretty.

I'm OK with my wild invasive varieties (we have Himalayan, cutleaf, plus the little ground blackberries), they grow all over our back woods, and there is no particularly effective way I know of to get rid of them that doesn't involve poison. My husband brush hogs them regularly to keep them in check and I rather enjoy the excuse to wander out back for berry picking in the fall. I agree that the flowers are pretty, and also the fall color, particularly the cutleaf variety (not my favorite for eating):