Arapaho Blackberry, 2 Live Starter Plants, Thornless Berry Bush, Early Sweet Berries, Self-Fertile, 4–8 in

Seller's description

What you'll get:
Two healthy Arapaho Thornless Blackberry starter plants, 4 to 8 inches tall, rooted and ready to plant. Carefully packed and shipped to arrive in excellent condition.

Growing basics:
Sunlight: Full sun is essential for the best fruit production. Arapaho needs a warm, open, sunny position with at least 6 hours of direct sun a day to produce its best crop of sweet, flavourful berries.
Soil: Moist, well-draining soil enriched with plenty of organic matter. Work in generous amounts of compost before planting to build a fertile, moisture-retentive growing environment. Arapaho performs best in slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 5.5 to 6.5.
Planting: Space plants 4 to 6 feet apart to allow good airflow and room for the canes to develop fully. Plant at the same depth as the plant was growing in its nursery container.
Watering: Keep the soil consistently moist throughout the growing season, especially during flowering and fruiting when consistent moisture directly affects berry size and sweetness. Deep, infrequent watering is preferable to shallow, frequent watering. Avoid waterlogging.
Mulching: Apply a generous layer of mulch around the base of each plant to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and maintain the slightly acidic soil conditions Arapaho prefers.
Feeding: Apply a balanced fertiliser in early spring as new growth begins. A second application after fruiting helps the plant recover and build strength for the following season.
Support: Arapaho produces strong, erect, self-supporting canes that are among the tidiest and most manageable of any blackberry variety. A simple trellis or wire system is still beneficial for keeping the plant organised and making harvesting as easy as possible.
Pruning: Blackberries fruit on second-year canes. After harvest, remove the canes that have fruited down to the ground to make room for the strong new canes that will carry the following year's crop.
Hardiness: Arapaho performs best in USDA zones 6 to 9 and is notably resistant to rosette disease, which is a significant practical advantage for home growers in areas where this disease is prevalent.

What makes Arapaho special?
Arapaho is one of the most reliable and consistently excellent thornless blackberry varieties from the University of Arkansas breeding programme, and it has earned a devoted following among home growers for its combination of early ripening, outstanding flavour, and exceptionally tidy, upright growth habit. It is one of the first thornless blackberries to ripen each season, bringing the fresh berry harvest forward and making it a valuable addition to any home fruit garden alongside later-ripening varieties.
The berries are medium to large, firm, and intensely sweet with a rich flavour and small seeds that make them particularly enjoyable fresh off the cane. The erect, self-supporting canes are among the neatest and most manageable of any blackberry variety, requiring minimal staking and making the whole growing experience straightforward and rewarding. Self-fertile and requiring no second plant for pollination, Arapaho is also notably resistant to rosette disease, giving it an additional practical advantage over less disease-resistant varieties. A compact, productive, early-ripening blackberry that delivers outstanding fruit with very little fuss, Arapaho is an excellent choice for any home garden.

All plants are grown and packed with care. If your plant arrives damaged, please get in touch and we'll make it right.