What You Need to Know About the 'Ponca' Blackberry

Posted by Paul Rusnak|July 16, 2020

The ‘Ponca’ blackberry is not your average small fruit. According to John R. Clark, a distinguished Professor of horticulture at the University of Arkansas and a columnist for American Fruit Grower magazine, the new variety released over the winter is really causing a stir among people that like blackberries, and — more importantly — those that don’t.

“This is our best yet,” Clark says when describing the ‘Ponca’ blackberry. That is saying a lot given Clark’s more than 35 years of fruit breeding experience.

One advantage to ‘Ponca’ is that it ripens early. “It’s very near ‘Natchez’ season, one of our earliest varieties, and so it’ll get into the market in the early season,” Clark notes. “The berry chemistry is one of the best I’ve seen for a blackberry. Anywhere from 10% to 13% average soluble solids for the season, the sweetest one we’ve released. It has a sub-acid flavor which always complements the sweetness, and it has a tremendous aromatic profile.”

Watch the video below to see and hear Clark describe characteristics of the ‘Ponca’ blackberry in detail.