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General Care &
Planting Guidelines
Blackberry Vines
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| SITE
SELECTION - A
location in full sunlight is desirable, although
blackberries will thrive in areas shaded for part of the
day. Blackberries flower relatively late, from May
onwards, and bloom over a long period, and frost is seldom
a problem. If possible, avoid planting in a frost pocket,
however, blackberris are among the few fruits that can be
reasonably well grown on sites with poor air drainage.
Blackberries grow in a wide range of soils and will
tolerate slightly impeded drainage, though they will fare
better in a well drained soil. Run soil tests the season
before planting and apply fertilizer and lime accordingly.
Soil pH should be from 5.5 to 6.8. |
| VARIETY
SELECTION -
Special attention should be given to selection of
varieties adapted to your soil and climatic conditions.
Buy plants from a reliable nursery that guarantees
trueness to name, and certifies the stock to be free of
disease. Be cautious about accepting plants from a
neighbor's garden. |
PLANTING
BLACKBERRIES -
When planting blackberries in rows, allow at least 8 ft.
between rows to facilitate cultivation. Erect blackberries
may be set as close as 3 ft. Semitrailing thornless
varieties, like Black Satin, are quite vigorous and should
be set 6 to 8 ft. apart in rows. Less vigorous trailing
types, like Carolina dewberry, are set 4 ft. apart in rows
8 ft. wide for wire trellis and 6 ft. wide for stakes.
Align plants carefully in the row to accomodate the
trellis, which will be constructed for semitrailing and
trailing blackberries.
Best results are usually obtained with very early spring
planting (about 3-4 weeks before the average date of last
spring frost). Dig a hole wide and deep enough to take the
roots and spread out well. The crown should be 1-2 inches
below the soil line. After planting, firm the soil
carefully around the roots. Most blackberries come with a
portion of the old cane attached, this serves as a
"handle" when setting the plants. The handle
should be cut back to 6 inches.
If you are planting erect thorny blackberries, it is more
economical to set root cuttings that are about pencil size
in diameter and 4-6 inches long. Root cuttings are spaced
2 ft. apart in the row in a horizontal position (no
portion out of the ground). In light sandy soils, plant
the cuttings 4-6 inches deep. On heavier clay soils, plant
the cuttings 3-4 inches deep.
Plants grown from good root cuttings are strong and will
come into production as early as one-year-old sucker
plants.
If plants are dry upon arrival, soak the roots in water
for several hours before planting. If you do not plant
immediately, wrap the plants in polyethylene bags and
place them in the refrigerator until planting (plant
within 1-2 weeks). |
FERTILIZING,
MULCHING AND CULTIVATION
- Mixed fertilizers are satisfactory for blackberries. For
best results, apply fertilizer in early spring when growth
starts and again in summer just after harvest. Use a
10-10-10 commercial fertilizer mix at the rate of 5 lbs.
per 100-foot row. For late ripening thornless
blackberries, apply the fertilizer mix no later than July.
This is to avoid forcing a late season growth that will be
subject to winter injury.
For the first year or two, before the root system of the
plants develop fully, spread 3 or 4 oz. of fertilizer mix
in a 12-inch radius around the base of each plant.
Mulching reduces the frequency of watering and aids in the
control of weeds and grasses that compete for moisture and
nutrients. Good mulch materials include: pine straw, wood
chips, or seed free grain mulches (wheat, rye). Lawn
clippings are not satisfactory.
Blackberry plantations should be cultivated thoroughly and
frequently. If grass and weeds get a start, they are
difficult to control. Begin cultivating in the spring as
soon as the soil is workable. Cultivate as often as
necessary to keep weeds down. Discontinue cultivation at
least a month before freezing weather normally begins.
Herbicides can be useful on
established blackberry plantings -- contact your county
Extension agent for suggestions. |
| WATER
MANAGEMENT -
Blackberries require plenty of moisture while the berries
are growing and ripening. The amount of water needed is
roughly equivalent to 1 inch of rainfall per week.
Irrigate sufficiently to meet this requirement. A minimum
of drip irrigation for mature blackberry plants is two
gal. of water per day while berries are developing. |
| PEST
MANAGEMENT - To
keep disease and insect damage to a minimum -- (1) Choose
recommended varieties, (2) destroy diseased plants, (3)
remove old canes after harvest, (4) remove wild blackberry
plants in vicinity of your garden, and (5) prune out all
brush canes that have been infested with insects. |
| PRUNING
- Blackberry plants send up new shoots from crowns at base
of the original set plants and possibly from buds formed
on the roots (sucker plants). These shoots grow through
one season, and send out laterals (side branches). The
second year, small branches grow from the buds on the
laterals. Fruit is borne on the tips of these small
branches. After the two year canes have borne a crop, the
cane dies (the canes are biennial). Understanding the
blackberry growth habit is necessary for proper training
and pruning. |
ERECT
BLACKBERRIES -
Erect blackberries such as Cherokee and Cheyenne send up
root suckers in addition to new shoots that arise from the
crown. If all root suckers were allowed to grow, they
would soon turn the blackberry plantation into a thicket.
During the growing season, it is desirable to allow the
suckers to develop in a row approximately 12 inches wide,
but it is very important to pull out suckers growing up
outside the one foot wide row.
When the new shoots of erect blackberries reach a height
of 30-36 inches, cut off the tips. This makes the canes
branch. Tipped canes also grow stout and are better able
to support a heavy fruit crop than untipped canes which
must be supported by trellis.
Winter prune the laterals to 12-14 inches for convenient
harvesting and larger berries. In late winter, remove the
remaining dead and weak wood. Leave healthy vigorous canes
spaced about 6 canes per lineal foot of row.
In summer, as soon as the last berries have been picked,
cut out all the old canes and burn them. Also you may wish
to thin new shoots at this time in addition to tipping to
force lateral branching.
Trailing and
semitrailing blackberries
- In the first growing season, shoots of semitrailing
thornless blackberry varieties will have a trailing habit.
If a trellis is constructed, train new shoots during the
first season to the trellis wires, and tie them
individually with a soft string. Generally, only a small
crop is available for harvest the year after planting. If
growth was poor during the first season, it would be best
in late winter to cut back to within several inches of the
ground canes that would have otherwise fruited in the
second season. This will favor the development of sturdier
more fruitful canes in subsequent years.
In the second and succeeding year's new shoot growth is
more vigorous and upright. These shoots should be tied to
the trellis as soon as they've reached a height of 4-6 ft.
Fan the canes out from the ground and tie them where they
cross each wire. Some growers prefer to wait until harvest
is over and old canes have been removed before tying new
shoots to the trellis wires. Pruning out old canes after
harvest is a very important sanitation measure. After
pruning out old wood, it can be beneficial to thin new
shoots which are weak, spindly, or broken. Leave four to
eight new shoots for semitrailing varieties; leave eight
to twelve shoots per plant of the trailing varieties.
Generally it is best not to tie canes in bundles. Before
growth starts in the spring, prune all laterals back to 12
inches to encourage better fruit sizing. |
| Notice:
The information contained on the following web pages is
derived from industry sources which are considered
reliable. Information is subject to change and withdrawal
without notice; therefore, it is the responsibility of the
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based on specific consumer needs. We assume no
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context with no intent of trademark infringement. |
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