Growing Blackberries

Blackberry bushes like to roam and take over a garden space. The first thing you have to consider when thinking of planting them is how are you going to keep them where you want to. And how you do it depends on the type of berries you plant.

Thorned blackberries can be grown without a trellis or other support, but they send out suckers and these need to be cut off unless you want the bush to spread out far and wide, making new plants as it goes. They have a couple of differences from their thornless cousins. First of all, the fruit is ready to pick from 2 to 3 weeks earlier and the fruit is generally sweeter.

Thornless blackberries, on the other hand, grow more like a vine with canes reaching from 8 to 12 feet long. This is why they have to be trained over a trellis or arbor or along a split rail fence. They do not send out suckers, so just train them to go where you want. Just keep the tips off the ground. If the tip does touch the ground, it will reproduce by a method called tip layering, which means when the tip reaches the ground, it will start to grow roots and all of a sudden you have a new plant ,whether you want one or not. The fruit will mature in the summer and can actually suffer from sunburn.

Now that you know what you want to plant, it is time for the how to do it. Backberries are planted from November up through the middle of March when they are in their dormant stage. Use a mulch if they are planted early on to help them get through the winter. Buy new plants from your local garden center or use those suckers you cut off from other plants. If you want to be nice to your neighbors, give them some of the suckers so they can grow their own crop.

Plant the new bushes at least 300 feet away from any existing bushes, especially wild ones. Keep them away from spaces where tomatoes, potatoes or eggplants have been planted. They are susceptible to a serious disease called verticillium wilt which can live in the soil and attack the new plants. Spring frost is an enemy of blackberries, so if possible plant they on the north side of the property and on a slope or hillside. Make sure the soil is moist, rich and well-drained.

Sources:

University of Tennessee