Have never tried Quachita. I have Rosborough blackberries in my yard. Have mine on trellis's to keep them from sprawling. It is a non-bush type. They have done quite well and quality is great. This past year we had a late freeze and drought, production was low. The plants are however doing well.
Ouachita is bush type. Developed for our kind of weather - hot. Make large, sweet blackberries. When I have a little time, I’ll put more info. about them on this thread and ping you.
Here is the info. about growing blackberries in Texas. Note the info. on Ouachita blackberries - supposed to do well in my part of Texas.
Thorned Varieties
All these erect thorned varieties have ‘Brazos’ in their heritage. It was developed here in Texas and has been the standard for blackberry production in Texas for years.
‘Brazos.’ Developed at Texas A&M University and introduced in 1959, ‘Brazos’ has been the Texas standard for years and is still a great variety. The berries are large and the plants produce heavily. Probably the most widely adapted blackberry in Texas and recommended for most of Texas, this variety starts ripening early, May 15 to May 30 depending on your location. ‘Brazos’ has good disease tolerance. It is interesting that ‘Brazos’ has some raspberry and wild dewberry in its heritage. The berries are a little acid and are better for cooking and canning than fresh eating. This variety has more thorny plants and larger seeded fruit than many of the improved varieties.
‘Rosborough.’ Another Texas A&M introduction that was released in 1977, ‘Rosborough’ is similar to ‘Brazos’ but the berries are firmer, sweeter and it has smaller seed than ‘Brazos.’ ‘Rosborough’ ripens about the same time as ‘Brazos,’ and is intended as a companion or replacement for ‘Brazos.’ A good early variety for east and south-central Texas, ‘Rosborough’ is not recommended for northwest Texas because of low winter temperatures. The flower petals are lavender instead of the normal white.
‘Womack.’ Released in 1977 by Texas A&M, this is the smallest of the A&M releases but still a nice size. It is firmer and better quality with smaller seed than ‘Brazos.’ The flower petals are lavender. ‘Womack’ ripens at the same time as ‘Brazos,’ and is recommended for west-central and north Texas in sandy areas. It’s not recommended for southeast Texas or northwest Texas.
‘Cheyenne.’ Released by the University of Arkansas in 1977, ‘Cheyenne’ has very large fruit that are sweet and have a slight raspberry flavor. ‘Cheyenne’ ripens about June 8, and is recommended for east Texas. It is resistant to orange rust and tolerant to several other diseases.
‘Chickasaw.’ Released by the University of Arkansas in 1998, Chickasaw is comparable to ‘Shawnee’ but has better storage and handling qualities and high yielding plants. This variety is recommended on a trial basis only because the area of adaptation has not been determined.
‘Choctaw.’ A 1989 release of the University of Arkansas. The medium sized fruit are somewhat soft, and storage and handling is sometimes a problem. The outstanding quality of this berry is its very early ripening time. This variety has a 300-400 hour winter chilling requirement. ‘Choctaw’ is hardy to -14 degrees F. and is a good candidate for the Panhandle.
‘Brison.’ Released by Texas A&M in 1977, ‘Brison’ has berries that are firmer, sweeter and with smaller seed than ‘Brazos.’ A very early ripening blackberry, it ripens about a week before ‘Brazos.’ Production is equal to or slightly better than ‘Brazos.’ ‘Brison’ is recommended for south-central Texas on blackland clay soils. The low chilling requirement precludes this being a good choice for far north Texas. It’s not recommended for southeast Texas because of fungal diseases.
‘Shawnee.’ Released by the University of Arkansas in 1983, this variety has a long ripening season. The berries are medium to large in size, are somewhat soft and do not ship or store well. The plants are highly productive. ‘Shawnee’ ripens about a week later than ‘Cheyenne,’ and is susceptible to double blossom disease.
‘Kiowa.’ This, the last of our thorned variety recommendations, is one of the best. ‘Kiowa’ was released from the breeding program of the University of Arkansas in 1995. The fruit of ‘Kiowa’ are the largest of the varieties listed here and are at least 1/4 bigger than `Brazos.’ These berries are six to eight times the size of wild blackberries. The berries weigh an average of 10 grams with a blocky oblong shape. The fruit is firmer than `Shawnee’ and stores and ships well. The fruit starts ripening about three days after `Shawnee,’ about June 4 in central Texas. `Kiowa’ is recommended for east, north and central Texas, but is not recommended for northwest Texas.
Thornless Varieties
These erect thornless varieties can all trace their heritage back to the varieties ‘Merton Thornless’ from England and ‘Thornfree’ from the USDA breeding program. All are patented releases of the University of Arkansas breeding program.
‘Apache.’ Released in 1999, this is the largest fruited and highest yielding of the University of Arkansas thornless releases. The fruit are medium-large and ripen in early July in central Texas, late in comparison to the thorned varieties. The sweet berries are firm and handle well, and the plants are very erect. Recommended especially for northeast Texas but adapted to other areas.
‘Arapaho.’ Released in 1993, this is the earliest-ripening of the thornless blackberries. The medium-sized fruit ripen in the latter part of May to early June in central Texas. Not a high yielding variety, it yields about 60 percent the fruit of ‘Shawnee.’ The fruit are very sweet with small seed size, and ‘Arapaho’ is one of the best tasting blackberries. It is resistant to double blossom and rust.
‘Navaho.’ Released in 1988, this variety has medium sized fruit with high sugar content. A moderate yielding variety, ‘Navaho’ yields about 3/4 of the production of ‘Shawnee.’ It has a ripening season of about four weeks. With a high chilling requirement of about 800-900 hours, it is only recommended for north and northwest Texas. ‘Navaho’ is hardy to -14 degrees F. It is difficult to establish from root cuttings but grows vigorously when it does get established.
‘Ouachita.’ One of the newest thornless varieties released in 2003, the fruit are sweet, large and have good storage and handling qualities. Starts ripening about June 10 and continues for about 5 weeks. Production and size of fruit are comparable to ‘Apache.’ ‘Ouachita’ has a chilling requirement of about 300-500 hours, making it a good trial variety for central and southeast Texas.
‘Natchez.’ Released in 2007, with large, firm berries on a plant with high yields, ‘Natchez’ yields twice as many berries as ‘Arapaho.’ ‘Natchez’ ripens early, about June 1, and seems to have good disease tolerance.
Primocane Fruiting Varieties
The University of Arkansas in 2004 released the varieties ‘Prime-Jim’ and ‘Prime-Jane,’ new primocane fruiting blackberries. These varieties fruit on the first year primocanes. Unfortunately, they have not done well in Texas.