Yeah..mine made it above the roof line of the house, so probably 12ft+...they grow insane...the branches i cut off were too big for a hand pruner... I've read that in Michigan they grow them under plastic and get very good results. They mentioned it could be the drying winter winds that actually do the killing. What kind of peach? I'm growing a "Red Gold" nectarine in a container and its just loaded with flowers. The peaches are all seed grown and are flowering their first time this year. Took 3 years seed to flower...pretty impressive. Whats odd is some of them have big show pink flowers and some have white flowers, and other have ugly flowers!

Update on blackberry winter survival (three weeks later)… Uncovered Plants - Black Satin (no winter damage). These were low to ground so maybe some snow protection. - Triple crown (some winter damage) - approx. 20% die back). Seem to have handled the winter fine but some dieback, primarily on the thinner canes). - Ouachita (some winter damage) - approx. 10% die back). Almost no dieback…surprising because I thought they would be less hardy than other erect varieties. - Kiowa (significant winter damage - approx. 75% die back). At first I thought these had overwintered well, but two of the four plants didn’t leaf out and the other two were significantly damaged. This variety has had some health problems over the last two years with (2 of 6 previously dying). Since this year’s crop was a loss and I have had problems with this variety in the past, I decided to replace them with a newer, thornless variety: Von Blackberry. - Prime Ark 45 (significant winter damage - approx. 50% die back). Honestly, some of the dieback may be from the primocane fruiting sections from last fall, but what is left seems to be growing well now. I think I’ll make these a primocane only crop after this season. - Wild Treasure Trailing. In ground planting - left uncovered and plant died back to ground. Potted planting (covered) lost most of its cane length. Given space and effort, not sure this variety is worth keeping. - All raspberries were uncovered and nearly all had no noticeable winter damage. I even had a blackhawk black raspberry and two double gold raspberry plants in pots just sitting in the open and both plants are growing really well and blooming. - I did have two canes on the Cascade Delight raspberry that died during the winter but I believe that was partly due to exposed roots from some soil erosion in their raised bed. Covered Plants. - Black Diamond. I decided to give it a reprieve and let it grow again this year but spray it for cane borers. I had to remove all of last year’s growth due to cane borers but this year it has three times as much growth (e.g. canes) and looks healthy. There’s already a 8” of growth this season and that’s a lot for this variety in my climate. - Siskiyou. No winter damage. Both plants look good and have been putting on amazing growth (well, at least amazing compared to my previous attempts). These second year plants each have 5 or more canes and the cane diameter has doubled since last year. The primocanes are already about ½ inch thick (e.g. diameter) and about 12” in length so far. Yeah! Last year’s growth is getting ready to bloom. - Kotata. No winter damage and the plants are growing new canes. I have 2-3 new canes per each plant and there’s about 6-8” of growth so far. Less vigorous growth from these plantings. - Thorny Boysenberry. The non-potted plants suffered the trifecta of cold weather, cane borers, and voles, so I have maybe 10% of the canes from last year but they are getting ready to bloom. I have had problems with leaf spot on these but I gave them a good lime-sulfur spray treatment this spring, so hopefully this will help. New growth has been outstanding with the cane diameter doubling, much like the Siskiyou blackberries, and there are 8-10 canes per planting with 12-18” of growth already. I’m going to do a better job of protecting these in the winter this year. - Marionberry. I lost about 50% of the cane length from the overwintering period but have learned more about what not to do while preparing them for winter. Plants seem fine but not as vigorous as Siskiyou or Boysen but more vigorous than Kotata. - Loganberry. I lost about 75% of the canes on these from cane borers and the cold. These may be the least cold hardy of the trailing berries that I own. The primocanes are growing vigorously though.

OK Rockguy your scaring me. Thought I was crazy and was dreaming I read something I didn't. Went back and found info on the diff between floricane plants( those that bear on second year canes and Primocane plants ( those that bear the first year.) Primocane was developed in Arkansas and it bears on first year canes, thus the name PRIME Ark 45 and can be mowed down after fall harvest. Hope it's true. I'll let you know. Vicki

I assume you're in zone 9. Being in 6a our conditions are way different. I grow many blackberries. I lost an apache to cold temps. I have Navaho, and Natchez. I also have Columbia Star, Triple Crown, Chester, Loch Ness, Black Diamond, and Siskiyou. I prefer trailing so I can protect them in the winter. I actually would like to breed a hardier blackberry. It is a project of mine, but I'm still practicing propagation techniques. In your zone, this is not a concern. I use some for jam, and some for fresh eating. I like Triple Crown, and Siskiyou as the best tasting. I have yet to try Columbia Star and Black Diamond. They were just added, but are supposed to be good. Out of the ones you have I think Navaho tastes best. Natchez the worst, but it may taste better in your zone. it has huge berries and the plant is very vigorous! Taste though is not very good. Great for jam! Here is a photo of my Natchez, taken in the fall. The one on the left, canes were 7 to 9 feet long. Not the best photo, all I have. Leaves are around the plant because many trailing canes are on the ground from other plants. I covered them up for the winter. I also grow many raspberry-blackberry hybrids Boysenberry, Tayberry, Marionberry, and wyeberry. Marion is the best of all listed in the post, Wow! Boysenberry varies by year and conditions.. Some years it is super good! Wyeberry and Tayberry have strong raspberry flavor and make the best jam. They are tart too, so best for jam. If you want an upright the best one by far is Triple Crown. Excellent tasting large berries. Thornless too. Raspberries are the worst for spreading but blackberries can spread too. But hardly ever do, although they can sucker!. Growth is out of the crown and spread more by tip rooting then suckers. Raspberries constantly sucker except black raspberries. Blackcaps are more like blackberries and only grow out of the crown. Propagate black raspberries and blackberries by tip rooting. I have about 21 different cultivars of raspberries also. One of my favorite fruits. I have to constantly remove suckers I don't want. Here is a photo of some of my trailing types covered by leaves to protect. In the spring I will tie them to the trellis for easy picking. I'll let new canes trail on the ground. I also cover them with burlap, not done yet in this photo. And that's Jesse the wonder dog who keeps squirrels and birds out of my garden! Going back to what you have none are really that bad. I like Navaho a lot and Apache is good too. I don't know much about Ouchita, never grew it, but heard it is a good plant, so you did OK! If you end up want to try others Triple Crown, Marionberry, Newberry (friends tell me it's great!), and boysenberry are good choices. Only Triple Crown is thornless though. The thorns are very annoying! They are huge and very sharp! Your choices are excellent for your zone too. Good luck, keep us updated. If you don't want to make your own soil mix, I like Fafard, and Happy Frog. Expensive, but excellent mixes. Any of the Fafard, they make numerous mixes. Hard to find though. They have a store finder on their web site. Just put in your zip code. www.farard.com This post was edited by Drew51 on Thu, Jan 8, 15 at 1:09