familyservicehub Many blackberries are bitter, but the varieties that are bred specifically for home gardens tend to be sweet, slightly tart and delicious.
Blackberries ripening in the cane.
The shrubs and vines can quickly cover a garden in a few years. Fresh blackberries are delicious, but they can also be cooked into jams, syrups or pies.
- Blackberries, like raspberry, grow on canes which are woody, hard stems.
- The blackberry is made up of many small fruits called drupelets, each containing a single seed.
- The blackberry is a biennial, meaning that it produces canes the first year and flowers and fruits the next. Each year, new canes are formed.
- Once you have planted blackberries you will be able to enjoy them for the rest of your life. Roots and crowns are capable of lasting anywhere between 15-40 years, depending on conditions.
Blackberries Grow on Floricanes and Primocanes
The plant produces woody “canes” every year. Canes are the upright shoots which flower and produce fruit. Blackberries, however, are biennials. This means that a cane will produce fruit its second year. Primocanes are first-year canes that do not produce fruit in most varieties. Primocanes, which are now called Floricanes, produce flowers and fruits in their second year. They then die. The majority of blackberry varieties produce fruit in the summer, also known as Floricane.
Primocane fruiting is a term used to describe blackberry varieties that produce fall or year-round fruit. Primocanes that are fall-fruiting or everbearing will flower and produce fruit on the tips in their first year. In winter, the tips of primocanes that ripened die. The cane that remains overwinters, and the next year it becomes a Floricane. These plants also die when they fruit.
There are three types of blackberries that can be grown at home
Variety is classified by the growth habit of the plant: semi-erect, erect and trailing.
Trailing Blackberries
Primocanes are produced by trailing blackberries. They will trail on the ground, unless supported by a support trellis. If not pruned, canes can grow to be more than 15 feet in length. This category produces the earliest fruit of all varieties. The fruit is small and has a great flavor. They are not as winter-hardy, can have thorns, or may be thornless. They have good berries and require trellising.
Erect Blackberries
The crown and root buds of Erect Blackberries produce stiff upright canes every year, which allows them to spread easily throughout your garden. The berries of the upright varieties are milder in flavor and aroma, and have larger seeds. They usually fruit during midseason. Each year, canes must be trimmed to encourage branching on the side to produce more fruit. The upright varieties don’t need trellising. These varieties are more winter-hardy and produce larger, sweeter berries.
Semirect blackberries
They may have thorns or not. The fruit is produced from late summer to fall, and the yields are higher than those of erect blackberries. Primocanes grow initially upright, but branch and side branches fall to the ground. The plants produce new plants when the tips of the primocanes come into contact with the soil.
Select a cultivar of blackberry that is adapted to your zone. Those not adapted may not be winter-hardy. If you purchase your plant from a local nursery that is reputable, this shouldn’t pose a problem.To make harvesting blackberry plants easier, semi-erect varieties of the plant should be trellised. This homemade trellis is made of plastic coated wire strung on 7-foot metal stakes.
How to grow blackberries
Select a location that gets as much direct sunlight as possible. Preferably 6-8 hours per day. The more sun your blackberries receive, the more fruit they will produce. Plant blackberries away from high winds. The cold winds of winter can damage the Primocanes.
Soil considerations
If you live in an area with heavy clay soil, add soil amendments like compost or peat moss to improve drainage. If you live in a heavy clay area, add soil amendments such as compost and peat Moss to improve drainage. Plant blackberries in raised bed if your soil is extremely clay or if it is polluted.
Blackberries grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0-6.7. If your soil has a pH above 7.0, you will see a chlorosis (a whitening of the leaves) and a decline in the health of your plants. This is because they cannot absorb iron. Modify the soil after a pH test by adding sulfur (to acidify it) or lime to make it more alkaline.
Blackberries like soils with a lot of organic matter. So, add composted manure or yard waste every spring in the early spring. Also, after harvesting in the fall. If you feed your plants compost regularly, they should require little to no fertilizer.
Blackberry Planting Tips
- You may have a problem growing blackberries if you live in a region with harsh winters. The weather can damage or destroy the canes. Blackberries won’t fruit on canes that have been damaged. Choose a variety hardy to your USDA zone.
- You can either plant your blackberry bare-root or in a pot. Planting varies depending on the cultivar. Blackberries can be planted as early as spring is possible, or as soon as soil can be worked. Dig a hole that is slightly larger than the rootball. Remove all the potting soil from your container if it is in one. Use root-washing. Spread the roots of the plant out and then backfill the hole with the soil you removed from the hole. Set the plant up so that the cane roots are about 1 to 2 inches beneath the surface of the soil. After planting, top off the soil in the root zone with compost.
- Most home gardeners will only need one plant. It will quickly fill up your garden bed after a few seasons. If you have a large area and need to produce fruit quickly, then trailing plants can be planted 5-8 feet apart. Semi-erect types should be planted 5-6 feet away, while erects are spaced at 3 feet.
Trellising blackberries
Trellising is a great way to get blackberries off the ground and into the light. The canes will be raised into the sunlight, the fruit will be off the ground and pruning and harvesting is much easier. More light equals more fruit. You can grow them without a trellis, but your garden will become unruly after a few years.
How to make a blackberry trellis at home:
- Use metal stakes 6 feet apart. This is 6 feet above the ground, so that your canes will be able to climb.
- Stretch 12-14 gauge wire at a height of 5′ above the ground, and 18” below top wire.
- Blackberries can grow to be very large and will need a lot of anchoring. Make sure that your trellis has the strength and stability to withstand high winds.
- In spring, fruiting floricanes can be tied to wires and primocanes are trained in a narrow line below the floricanes.
Watering Blackberries
In the absence of rain, blackberries require 1-2″ of water per week. It is important to do this when the fruits are developing. The roots of blackberries are shallow and fibrous, so it is essential to keep the soil consistently moist.
Fertilizing blackberries
Compost is only needed in the spring and fall for most soils. Compost can also help suppress weeds which compete with the shallow roots of blackberries. Before adding fertilizer, test your soil if you are concerned that the plants may be suffering from a lack of fertility.Only prune blackberry canes in the summer if their height exceeds that of the trellis. This makes harvesting more difficult.
How to prune blackberries
Pruning your blackberries is essential to a successful crop. It makes a difference whether you have a primocane or floricane fruiting variety.
When they die, always prune all fruiting floricanes down to the ground. New plants should not be pruned in their first year. Use your fingertips to gently tip each primocane (new stem) back to 48 inches at the start of summer. Growth hormones are released by repositioning the canes. This stimulates the growth of new buds on the cane. The number of lateral branches will increase, allowing for more flowers and fruits to be produced. If your floricanes are too tall for the trellis, they can be pruned during the growing season. To avoid pests and diseases, remove all floricanes at the end of the season with loppers.
Pruning Floricane fruiting blackberries
The blackberries will benefit from both winter and summer pruning, or “tipping”. When the plant is dormant in winter, remove all canes that produced fruit during the previous season. These canes are no longer useful and will only harbor disease and insects. Trim canes that are too long to a maximum of 2-3 feet. When semi-erect varieties reach the top wire on your trellis, you can tip the tops of the plants (prune) in the summer. Tipping primocanes is recommended for erect types when they reach 3 feet. The canes will branch out laterally, and fruit will be produced in the next year.
Pruning Primocane Blackberries
Primocane varieties that produce fruit late in the season are those that have fruited on canes of their first year. Trim the tips of canes in early summer, when they reach a height of about 3 feet. This will encourage branching and increase bud production. If the canes are dead in winter, remove them from your garden.
Blackberry Pests
No plant is immune to pests. Aphids and mites can damage plants. Fungi infections are also very common. If you want to avoid fungal infection, remove all canes which have fruited during the season. Also, water the roots and not the leaves (blackberry leaves are robust). Check out this great resource by the University of California about Blackberry diseases and pests.