jjandia4
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:38 am

Blackberry bush

I am new here and in desperate need of help. I just moved into my home and there is a massive blackberry bush (15-20' in diameter) in our front yard. I love it, but it hasn't been taken care of at all. Some of the branches are 10' long and dragging on the ground. When I lifted up the top layer of branches I can see that the entire center is dead. I've done some research and know I need to prune back and clear out the dead parts, but how far back can I prune the live parts? Any help would be appreciated! I am not a gardner, but maybe if I can tame this plant I will have confidence enough to try growing other things!
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JONA
Greener Thumb
Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

Get a tough pair of gloves!

Blackberries crop on canes grown the previous year.
So try and trace back a few of the largest of the new canes. Try and get canes that are growing from the ground level.
Pull these carefully to one side if you can, that should allow you cut the old canes out down to ground level.
Then you can tie the new canes back up to cropping level ready for next year.

It can pay to run a wire along around a foot or so above the ground.
Then, next year as the new canes grow from the root of the bush they can be tied to this wire as they grow which keeps them out of the way while you crop the fruit from last years canes.
Then in the autumn the old canes can be removed and these new ones pulled up and tied up to the cropping level.



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