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I apologize if this has been covered - I searched and found some info but not all the reassurance that I need.
I moved into a house in the high desert (zone 8, very dry, 100+ much of the summer, very sandy soil) that has about 10 blackberry bushes along the side of my driveway. They range from about 5 feet down to about 2 feet tall.
When I arrived in August the yard had clearly been unattended for awhile and two of the bushes had desicated blackberries on them. All of them were very messy looking. I figured I'd missed that year's crop and would get some good berries next summer for making pies and whatnot.
Now here it is in February and I'm planning my garden and worried about getting my blackberry bushes to thrive. I found advice about pruning them but have to admit I'm still confused. "Prune the canes" - I'm assuming those are the woody stalks? "Grey canes are last year's and won't fruit again". There are stalks of all colors and types - grey stalks, brownish-red stalks with said desicated berries and brown leaves on them, ancient barky looking stalks, etc.
I went to town cutting these "canes" (I hope?) down and clearing out the dried grass to neaten things up and then I put mulch down around the base of each plant. I left the thicker stalks where they are. I'm going to run my irrigation hose along the row of bushes starting in April probably...
Am I doing this right? It occured to me that by mulching to keep down the grass I might be blocking new canes from coming up? Do they come up from the ground or spring off above-ground? Should I take my mulch off until I see evidence of new canes?
If there were desicated blackberries there, my plants were still alive as of last summer, right? Why didn't they all have berries? Are there any clues that will tell me if my plants are still alive or do I just have to water and wait?
I know that blackberries are considered "invasive" and grow in some areas seemingly no matter what you do to try to stop them! So I'm hoping I can't possibly have killed mine. But then, I've only had experience with blackberries growing wildly along creekbeds and other wet areas, not in this incredibly dry environment.
I'm really looking forward to blackberries from my own yard! Please help!
Water. Blackberry vines love water. Lots and lots of water.
I wouldn't worry much about pruning them, just water the bejeezus out of them and you will get blackberries.
(If you did manage to kill your blackberry vines, please tell us how you did it. We'll give it a try!)
I agree. Blackberries are almost impossible to kill. Prune out any dead or diseased wood if there is any. We have some growing near the house that were probably planted decades ago. It is a bush about 30 by 30. It's just massive and it spreads a little more each year.
bigcats
Check out UC Davis Ag for info on your black berries and your local ag extension office they should have lots of info on them and answer your questions..
Good luck
Blackberries and raspberries are perennial plants that bear fruit on biennial canes. The roots live on indefinitely, but each year they send up canes that generally produce fruit the second season, then die. With a little TLC, the right variety will give you luscious berries for years, in any climate.
It's easy to tell first-year canes from second-year canes. First-year canes have green stems, while second-year canes have a thin, brown bark covering them.
Pruning is a vital part of maintaining a healthy blackberry planting. This practice greatly inhibits the spread of blackberry diseases and improves fruit quality and yield. During the summer months, regularly remove all new canes that emerge outside the desired plant area. This improves light penetration and air circulation for the canes will fruit next year. Also remove any canes that show obvious signs of insect or disease injury. In the late winter or early spring, before the buds break, remove all of the old canes that fruited the previous year. Again, remove canes that have emerged outside of the desired growth area. Maintaining a row will assure adequate light penetration and air circulation to promote healthy cane growth and reduce disease problems. Only the most vigorous canes, those with the greatest height and basal diameter, should be left in the row. Continue thinning until only four to five canes per foot of row length remain. These remaining canes should be attached to the trellis wires with twine. Finally, remove all of the plant waste from the field. Plant waste can harbor diseases and insects that may attack the healthy canes.
Go to the library or look online for more information. Just Google "growing blackberries" and you will have more info than you will know what to do with. Good luck.
There's a daddy blackberry and a mommy blackberry and when they love each other very much...
From About.com:
Maintaining Bearing Blackberry Plants
* FALL
o Prune out all canes that bore fruit, shortly after harvest. (It’s advisable to dispose of all clippings, either by burning or taking to the dump. Dead canes can spread disease.)
* EARLY SPRING
o Thin canes to about 5 - 7 per plant.
o Prune side branches on remaining canes to about 12 inches or 12
buds.
o Tie the pruned canes to your fencing.
Water. Blackberry vines love water. Lots and lots of water.
I wouldn't worry much about pruning them, just water the bejeezus out of them and you will get blackberries.
(If you did manage to kill your blackberry vines, please tell us how you did it. We'll give it a try!)
It depends on the variety. If the OP lives in a place with a lot of 100-degree days, chances are pretty fair that the blackberry hybrid that grows there does NOT like a lot of water.
I live in a hot, semi-arid climate and planted Navajo blackberry plants. I just watered once a week and mulched like other plants but I lost one. I figured out it was the water and the other plants recovered and began to thrive when I cut back on the water and removed a lot of the mulch. Some of the hybrids do NOT want water.
Maybe those are the kind I have. I've been running the drip hose every afternoon lately, so maybe I should stop that.
How about pruning the Navajo type? Do you do a lot of that?
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