So, I found a place online to buy blackberries. 10 plants for 30 bucks, + 8 bucks to ship.

I think this is a great price, they are shipped as 10 clumps of roots with 1 foot or so of stem, shipped out in the winter.

Is this price good? Also, I am going to get Apache, but my other choices are Navajo, Black Satin, Black butte, Brazos, Cherokee, Kiowa, and then hybrids...Austin Dewberry.

Should I get another cultivar to go with the Apache?

We order ours from Womack Nursery. Check their website for current pricing. They are one of the best places to order fruit trees and berries in TX.

We've got Rosborough, Womack, and Kiowas that we planted, along with a bunch of "native" dewberry/blackberry hybrids that have been growing on our place for years. Typically, any variety of blackberry is going to do very well as long as it gets enough water and full sun, but my experience seems to indicate that the more thorns it has, the better it is going to do. The Rosborough is absolutely evil with thorns, but the berries are a good 1-1.5" in length. We planted a couple of thornless Arapaho's one time, and they did not make it, whereas the ones with thorns are doing fine.

Additionally, each different variety tastes slightly different. Tasted separately, you probably won't be able to tell, but when you are picking them all at once and eating them at the same time, the difference is noticeable.

Different varieties ripen at different times as well.

In short, order several different varieties, plant them in full sun at least 5' apart, and water them well. You should make a few berries by next year and have a load of them by 2012.

Log, Will the blackberries do well on a trellis attached to fence?

He'll i'll let you come dig up as much as you want. Can't get rid of the stuff.

They'll do fine, but I would suggest a south facing fence if possible. This allows more sun to reach the plants during the time that they are greening up, flowering, and ripening during the spring.

I ordered 3 plants several years ago. Ordered all online via gurneys.com They make like berries like rabbits and pigs make babies. We have enjoyed them for about 5 years and we are about to have a blackberry explosion in my backyard (think the cold winter may drive a bumper crop???) Navaho thornless variety. No trellis for me. Just plenty of sun in a raised bed so they drain well. Chop off the old cane every July when they are done giving berries and you are good to go. Most disease resistant low maintenance plant in the garden.

Wes '87

Here's some good information:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruit/blackberries/blackberries.html