Come next year, your in for a world of WORK;-) I would make sure you know when to spray and for what. Here is a website that has a detailed spray chart. http://www.virginiafruit.ento.vt.edu/SprayGuide/HomeFruitSprays.html Now you can cut back on ALOT of work and headache by spraying for disease and pests at the proper time every year. Fruit trees are not "plant and forget". Also, find a good source on the different types of pruning methods as you want your trees to get as much light and air as possible for maximum fruit. And when you prune this FIRST TIME, no more than 1/3 off the top:-) Dont worry, with all the pros around here and a good regiment of know what to do when, you should be OK. Here is a link that might be useful: Spray guide

Your Peach trees are probably going to need to be sprayed to help keep Peach Leaf Curl at bay.Either Copper or something with Chlorothalonil in it,I used the Bonide brand on a Nectarine and just a little PLC is showing. Peat moss will help acidify the planting mix for Blueberries and the Pawpaws. A simple framework or trellis can be made for the brambles,maybe something circular and fixed in the potting mix for the canes to be wrapped onto. Here is also a video about keeping the Mulberry at a manageable size. Brady Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning Trees into Bushes

yes, thanks peeps! That's it! They are not unattractive to me and with a manicured dense lawn all around they dont seem to be invasive. I have a male and a female. I did have a nightshade appear out of no where in my flower island this summer though! It is very colorful but very poisonous... should I get rid of it before it spreads? Thanks

For flavor, Cherokee is my favorite. Other good blackberry varieties that have thorns are Brazos, Kiowa and Rosborough. Thornless varieties that do well here are Arapaho, Apache, Quachita and Navaho. For anyone who has not grown berries and wonders what the difference is, the thorny blackberries tend to be higher producers. That makes up for them being harder to pick. There's a relatively new development in the blackberry world that involves varieties developed to produce fruit on the current year's growth. Traditionally, blackberries produce berries in summer on the previous year's growth, called primocanes. Three of the new varieties that produce on the current year's growth are Prime-Jim, Prime-Jam and Prime-Ark 45. I have not grown any of them, but may plant some of them in a trial planting next year. Blackberries, whether they are thorny or thornless get about 5' tall and need something to lean against, if not a trellis, then at least a fence or wall. My brother grew them along the west wall of his house. He enriched the soil really well with lots of cow manure and they grew and produced like gangbusters. I've seen them grown along fencelines, planted about 3' or 4' away from the fence, and I've seen them grown on trellises. If you don't support them, they have trouble staying upright but they're happy leaning against a fence or wall if you don't put up a trellis.