planting marionberries and blackberries - how far apart?

Hey all you PNW gardeners, I just bought these two berries (the blackberry is Triple crown thornless) and plan to espalier them - but how far apart should I plant them? how far apart can I space the 4x4's? Any suggestions on how best to grow these? THANKS!

Hmm, I think I'll need to inspect your plantings-say, sometime mid-August or so. Where in Portland do you live? ;)

Seriously, I've never grown them. I've removed a few of the invasive ones, but that's it....

Hi susybell, long time no see! Of course you are welcome to share in the bounty. The plants are about 10 inches tall now - we can share the dozen or so we'll probably get this year! LOL. I visited a place that had marionberries growing crazy on this neat trellis they had built and we just stood there for 10 minutes and pigged out. THey were SOOOOOO yummy. anne

Look them up in the plant files & see how big they get when mature.Then plant them just far enough apart that they aren't growing intertwined.

I dont have marionberries, but blackberries we planted this year said 4 to 6 feet apart... hope this helps :o)
AnjL

That's pretty much what my internet search said about Marionberries,too.

I grow both. And they are worth growing, but you need to add Boysenberries, too!

Mine are planted about 8 - 9' apart. I think it is best to give them LOTS of space - some of the canes get 15-18' long in my orchard, so I am going to dig them up & move them: they will be spaced 10 - 12' apart.

Blackberries can be arching or trailing.
The primocanes are first year canes - no fruit.
Floricanes are 2nd year canes, and this is what Blackberries produce fruit on.
Due to the thorns & length of the canes, they really need to be "managed".
There are a few different methods, but whichever you choose, remember to grow the canes up & off the ground; and for maximum fruit production, you'll want them to grow horizontally. They will always bear fruit at the ends of the canes, but when you bend or arch them, the flower-inhibiting hormones are forced to the tips, which allows for flowering along the cane.

Raintree Nursery has good information about how to grow. The thornless varieties are way easier on the hands/clothing.

Kate - I MUST see them. Remind me on my next visit. I'd love to have "managed" berries.

Kathy - you can grow both types on your property. You know the natives do just fine - even in the shade.
I'm sure you saw mine, but they had probably been severely pruned. I whacked them again a couple weeks back so I would be able to dig them up easier...yeah - right!

By the way - I got that Buddleia out of the Vegetable garden. It was a tree trunk! It really wants to live, so into the orchard it will go, with plenty of room to do its thing. Love the silver leaves & blue-violet blooms.

Yeah, I would say that buddleia had earned the right to live. Guys, the trunk of it was tree-sized. I don't know how you got it out.

Berries are really so adaptable. I just want to find a way to grow only a specific number in a specific space and not have the vine get away from me. That seems to happen to so many people. LOL

When I was growing up(over a half century ago) we had both Cascade and Boysenberries.Dad had them a horizontal wire trellis so they were about 4-5 feet in the air.Easy to pick that way.

Good idea. And you get to pick in the shade, too, if you do it right. Nice thinkin', Dad.

I'll draw it for you when i see you Saturday. there's a real easy way to manage them, and not to confuse the primocanes with the floricanes.
You can grow Raspberries, too.
Amber destroyed my last crop. They were pruned high & she could not reach them, so she did what any self-respecting dog would do: she laid on them until they were horizontal, and voila'! easy-pickin's!

Hahahahahahahah. I'm sure it wasn't too fun for you, but ya gotta love that ingenuity - and complete lack of concern for consequences. Our "little" opportunists.

Yes, and the primo- and flori-canes. I'd like to do it right and maximize yield while minimizing space and pain. Thank you. I already have some raspberries from me SIL that are happily growing in a pot (or through the bottom of) a pot in the shade. Tough.

Hurry up & plant or you'll be trenching the Raspberries, too!
Of course, you had good practice with the - was it the Ninebark???

Lol, Anne, maybe you could bake a tiny tart that we could share...
marionberries on a trellis, and now K^2 talking about raspberries-yum!

Oh, dear, this has kicked summer yearnings into high gear-the smell of the ripe berries, warm from the sun...ahhhh....

:-) Yes, it was the ninebark that snuck up on me. I have lots of fear and respect for berries, so I've been pull them up regularly, LOL. They don't seem to care . . . maybe that's a sign (not such a good one . . .)

Hard to imagine anything ripening right now . . . thought I have lots of salmon berries in bloom.

Glad I popped in here, we grow marionberries commercially here on the farm and our plants are six feet apart. Boysens and logans are the same and evergreen blackberries are nine feet apart and the rows are all nine feet apart. I will try to find a picture.

This part of a row is about two weeks from harvest which is usually about the 4th of July. I could probably find plants out in the fields. They make new plants by tipping the canes, in other words inserting the end of the canes go into the ground in mid fall like mid October and by spring they grow roots and a new top. Of course you can stick the canes in and guarantee more plants or just let nature do some for you.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

The reason I plant mine further apart is for better air circulation to combat any problems brought on from high moisture, aka: whole 'lotta rain.

thanks, Lenjo and Katye - I'm going to put up the support as soon as it STOPS RAINING. I know, I know, no use in gripin". Anyway, I'm going to put a couple of 4x4 cedar posts about 18 feet apart. then attach 14 gauge wire at about 2 feet and 4 feet. I should be able to fit both the marionberry and the triple crown thornless on the same structure...... Also, how far away from my fence do you suggest I plant the structure? I'm using it as a sort of privacy screen and space in this particular part of the garden is a bit limited, but I want to be able to walk between the fence and the berries......thanks everyone for the great info! I love this site.

anne

Anne, just allow yourself enough room between your fence and your berry row to walk and possibly work the ground, so maybe three feet. Do you ever come south? I could show you a commercial field. It isn't only raining but it is so cold for this time of year. Our berries are extremely slow in budding out.