Blackberry Plants

Growing a sweet, juicy harvest of blackberries is an easy process that requires a little planning and preparation, and is well worth the effort.

Blackberry plants are popular among fruit-bearing plants that are well suited to home gardening and can provide years of abundant harvests.

Plant Requirements

Although blackberry plants adapt to some shade, they will produce more fruit if planted in full sun. Provide a soil rich in compost and with good drainage.

Heavy clay or sandy soils should be amended before planting. Till the soil bed to remove rocks, sticks, weeds and hard clumps of soil.

Compost, shredded hay or decomposed leaves can be added to bring the pH to between 5.5 and 7.

Planting Blackberry Canes

Research planting times for varieties in your region, as fall is the usual planting time. Depending on the variety you choose, plan the spacing of your plants.

Medium growing varieties should be spaced about eight feet apart, while light growers can be spaced at about four feet distances.

Check the tags on your nursery plants for specifics on plant spacing. As early in the spring as the soil can be worked, dig a hole about five inches deep.

Make it wide enough to accommodate the spread of the roots without disturbing them as you position them in the hole.

Cover well with loose dirt and tamp down the soil bed. Trim the canes to about six to eight inches once they are planted and water thoroughly.

Add either a layer of compost around the plants to improve nutrient content in the soil. Or, work two tablespoons of bone meal, at least three inches from the canes, into the soil around each plant.

Mulch can be added to prevent weeds sprouting. Blackberries are climbing bushes, and providing a trellis or some type of support keeps the plants upright.

These new canes will not produce fruit the first year, but need to be fertilized and watered in order to bear fruit the second year.

As early as possible in year two, fertilize the soil and provide at least one inch of water weekly, especially during dry periods.

Once the fruit is ripe, a dark purple color and plump, it will be easy to remove from the branch. If it resists, it needs more time to ripen.

Pick ripened fruit every three or four days to prevent the birds from beating you to them.

Pruning Plants

To get a bigger yield and have healthier bushes, prune your plants. In early spring, cut off the tips of the canes to about two feet in height.

If they are already shorter than this, cut off just the top inch of each cane. This forces branching and increases fruit production.

Remove any diseased or dead canes at this time also. After fruiting for the season is complete, at the end of summer, remove the canes that have produced fruit. They will not bear a second season.

Removing them forces the plant to produce new canes for next year's fruit. Cut them down to the ground.

Any canes that did not produce fruit this year will be next year's fruit-bearers, so leave them alone.

Blackberry plants, when properly planted and maintained, will produce for 15 to 20 years.

The time and effort spent in the beginning and routine maintenance year to year are well worth the abundance of sweet, juicy fruit you will harvest.