Sweet-Ark™ Ponca Blackberry Plant

1. Planting: Plant your Sweet-Ark™ Ponca Blackberry in an area that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. When choosing a location, avoid low sitting areas that collect a lot of standing water or that may be prone to flooding. 

Dig a hole three times as wide as the root ball and just as deep. Place the plant in the hole and make sure that it’s level with the ground, then backfill the hole. Water deeply and mulch around the base to conserve soil moisture.

Blackberry plants prefer slightly acidic soil but will adapt to your natural soil even if it's sandy or heavy in clay as long as it's well-draining.

2. Watering: Keep the soil moist, but not over-saturated. Blackberries need about an inch of water per week and more during times of drought. Check on your soil once a week, if it’s starting to dry out then it’s time to give your plant more water. Due to the shallow rooted nature of these plants, they shouldn’t dry out down to six inches below the surface of the soil. However, be careful not to overwater your plants, as it’s important not to over saturate the soil. The amount of water needed will depend on your climate and the time of year.

3. Fertilizing: You’ll know when your blackberry plant needs fertilizing because its leaves will show some signs of discoloration. It’s best to fertilize early in the spring before new growth starts to emerge, then again after your berry harvest. Use a well-balanced, general all-purpose fertilizer like formula 10-10-10.

4. Pruning: Pruning will help increase your blackberry crop and keep your plants healthy. After a year of growth in the early spring, take a sterile pair of sharp hand pruners and remove the tips of each woody blackberry cane. If they’re shorter than 24 inches long, only remove the tip back to about an inch. This will cause the plant to branch out wider and produce more berries.

5. Pollination: This variety is self-pollinating, so you will get fruit with just one plant. However, adding another pollinator will help increase the size of your crop.