Growing Blackberries in Your Home Garden, EC 1303 (Oregon ...

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The fruiting season extends from early July tofrost, depending on the variety.Semierect blackberries produce very vigorous,thick, arching canes that benefit from summerand winter pruning. Cultivars include ‘TripleCrown’, ‘Loch Ness’, and ‘Chester Thornless’.For detailed information on the cultivars withineach type, see Blackberry Cultivars for Oregon,EC 1617.Growth and fruiting cycleAll blackberry plants are perennial; the rootsand the base of the plant (crown) live for manyyears. The canes are biennial; they grow 1 year(primocanes), produce fruit the following year(floricanes), and die after harvest. All types ofblackberries produce new canes each year fromthe crown, and erect types also produce new canesfrom the roots. During the growing season, bothnew vegetative primocanes (which will fruit nextyear) and fruiting floricanes (which will die in thewinter) are present.After harvest, the floricanes are removed, andthe primocanes, which will fruit the followingyear, are trained. In some types of blackberries, theprimocanes are also pruned.Primocane-fruiting (sometimes called “fallfruiting” or “everbearing”) blackberries are anexception to this fruiting pattern. This type of erectblackberry is the only kind that produces flowersand fruit on the current-season primocanes. Thefruiting season is from late August to the first fallfrost.Blackberry canesThere are two names for a blackberry cane,depending on whether the cane is in its first orsecond year of growth.Primocanes: first year of growth; most typesproduce no fruit on these canes.Floricanes: second year of growth; these canesproduce flowers and fruit and then die.Selecting a siteBlackberries produce best in full sun, but theytolerate partial shade.Blackberries are more tolerant to heavy soilsthan any other berry crop. However, it’s best toselect a site with good drainage. Plants grow bestin a well-drained, fertile, loam soil with moderatewater-holding capacity.Selecting a cultivarThe various types of blackberries require differentcare, and cultivars differ greatly in fruitingseason, fruit and seed size, appearance, and flavor.All types are self-fruitful, so you need only onecultivar for pollination and fruit production. Forcultivar descriptions, see Blackberry Cultivars forOregon, EC 1617.Establishing your plantingPreparing the soilYou should be able to keep your blackberryplanting productive for 15 to 20 years, so chooseand prepare a site carefully.Eliminate all perennial weeds. Prevent weedsfrom going to seed!Almost any soil type is suitable for blackberriesas long as the drainage is good. Blackberriesgrow best when the soil pH is between 5.5 and 7.Test soil pH the year before you plant. (For moreinformation about soil testing, see LaboratoriesServing Oregon: Soil, Water, Plant Tissue, andFeed Analysis, EM 8677, and Soil Sampling forHome Gardens and Small Acreages, EC 628.) Ifthe soil is too acidic (pH below 5.5), add lime tothe soil as recommended by the soil analysis.A good supply of soil organic matter improvesaeration and drainage and increases water-holdingcapacity. Apply organic matter the summer or fallbefore you plant. Manure is a good source. Useabout 2 cu yd per 100 sq ft of planting area. Youalso can use decomposed (rotted) compost. Useonly materials that you think are free from insectsand weed seeds.2
Black Diamond.Dig, plow, or rototill the material into thesoil to ensure that it will be well decomposed byplanting time. If you incorporate large amounts ofnondecomposed material into the soil, add2 lb calcium nitrate (16 percent nitrogen) per100 sq ft to aid in decomposition.If your garden is slow to drain, or if the watertable is high, you can install a drain tile near therow (at least 25 inches deep) or plant on raisedbeds.SpacingFor trailing cultivars, space plants 4 to 6 feetapart in the rows. Space erect cultivars 2 to 3 feetapart and semierect cultivars 5 to 6 feet apart.Leave about 10 feet between rows.PlantingIt’s best to purchase certified disease-freeplants from a nursery. Plants from a neighbor’splanting could introduce root-rot organisms,viruses, or other pests into your garden. Traditionally,plants were sold as fairly large “bare-root”plants, but tissue-cultured plants are becomingmore common. These plants are lush and tenderand are sold in small cell packs.If you can’t plant immediately, bury plant rootsin moist soil or sawdust to prevent drying.To propagate cultivars that produce suckers,simply transplant rooted suckers. Propagate trailingcultivars, which produce fewer root suckers,by tip layering. Cover tips of canes with soil in thelate summer or early fall. Cut rooted tips from thecanes and transplant them the following spring.Plant as early as you can work the soil inthe spring. Dig a shallow hole, large enough toaccommodate the roots. If you have bare-rootplants, spread the root mass and set the plant sothat the highest point of attachment of roots tocane is 1 to 1 1 ⁄2 inches below ground level. Coverwith soil and press firmly to remove air pockets.Water the plants to settle the soil. Cut the canes onnewly set bare-root plants to 6 inches at plantingtime. Tissue-cultured plants need more care afterplanting and should be treated like a vegetabletransplant; plant them at about the same depth asthe container (or slightly deeper) and water themfrequently until established.TrellisIt’s advisable to trellis all blackberries. Youcan grow erect blackberries without support, buttrellises help prevent cane breakage from wind,keep the planting neater, and make cultivation andharvesting easier.Trailing blackberries. This type of blackberryis easy to grow on a simple two-wire trellis. Use8-foot or longer wooden end posts. Bury one endof each post, leaving 6 feet above ground. Placemetal posts every 20 feet in the row. Run a topwire almost 6 feet above ground and a lower wire4 1 ⁄2 feet above ground (Figure 1). Use high- tensilewire and install tightening devices at one end ofthe row. In the planting year, train new primocanes18"4.5 to 6'B20 to 30' between postsAFigure 1. Two-wire trellis for trailing blackberries, inthe growing season (leaves and fruiting laterals notdrawn for clarity): (A) Floricanes that just bore fruit andwill die. (B) Wire guide for new cane growth. (C) Newprimocane growth that will bear fruit the following year.C3
Page 1: EC 1303—Revised March 2008 u $1.5
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