Blackberry Pruning

I love a good fresh blackberry. Growing up, my dad had a huge patch of blackberries and they produced some of the largest blackberries I had ever seen. They were pretty wild and unruly but oh, the berries were tasty! When we moved here our first year, one of the first things we planted were some blackberry starts from my parents. They haven't produced a whole lot and the berries they have given us have been pretty miniature. Solution? Try pruning! Don't worry, it isn't complicated like pruning a peach or apple tree. You don't have to be precise in where you cut.

These are quite the mess. After pruning we need to put up some wires to support the canes.

First thing to know is that blackberry bushes produce a main cane with lateral branches coming out from the sides. These side branches can grow super long and if they make contact with the ground, can re-root and create a bramble mess.

Step one: Locate a main stem and trim to be about five feet long (I just held it next to me and cut it a little shorter than I was). If the main stem isn't that long, just trim off the ends which usually are slightly dead.

Step two: Trim back all the lateral branches to be between 12 and 18 inches long.

That's it! So simple and easy!

It looks ever so slightly better. By pruning, the energy of the plant goes into producing super delicious berries rather than producing branches and leaves. That's what we're hoping for this year!