Cutting blackberries: Instructions for the correct cut

The skilled gardener cuts his blackberries every year. The reward for the effort: large and sweet fruits. The cutting follows clear instructions, as growth characteristics leave little room for maneuver in terms of cutting and timing.

Plant pruning

Blackberries are ideally planted in spring, around March or April. The first pruning takes place immediately after planting. All tendrils are cut back to 30 to 40 cm, each just above a leaf or shoot bud. Buds close to the ground should be covered with soil about 5 cm high. Later in spring the best rods are selected and the rest removed near the ground. 2-3 rods should remain on strong-growing varieties, 5 to 10 rods on weak-growing varieties.

Educational cut for trellis

At the same time, blackberry plants have biennial canes that bear fruit in the current year and newly sprouted canes that will not bear fruit until the following year. When it comes to blending, a clear distinction must be made between the two types. Otherwise, young fruit shoots could be accidentally removed or useless, harvested branches could be left standing. Upbringing on the trellis helps to keep an overview, because the rods are tied to it alternately.

• erect a wire trellis before planting
• for fast-growing varieties 6 m wide
• for less expansive varieties 3-4 m wide
• Tension three wires at heights of 50, 100 and 150 cm
• Plant the plant in the middle of the trellis
• Tie all selected rods horizontally or in a fan shape
• use only one side of the wire trellis for this
• tie the new rods on the other side of the trellis in the following year
• this year's and biennial rods are clearly separated spatially
• the tying made subsequent mixing impossible

Tip: Inquire before planting whether the blackberry variety you have chosen will develop runners. The thorny varieties in particular are known for this. If this is the case, you should definitely set up a root barrier about 30 cm deep for the shallow rooters. The easiest way to do this is to line the planting pit with pond liner.

Instructions for a maintenance cut

The worn rods have to be cut annually and detached from the trellis wire. At the same time, new fruit rods must be maintained and tied with suitable pruning measures. In a very mild region, pruning can be done in autumn after harvest. Unless the rods have been arranged alternately on a trellis, they can be clearly distinguished at this point in time. In a rather rough region, you should definitely start blending by February or March

wait. The blackberry sprouts happily after it has been cut back. It is not certain whether the new shoot will be able to harden well by winter.

1. Wait for an ideal day. The sky should be overcast and the temperature should be above freezing.
2. Cut back all worn and dead rods from the previous year close to the ground.
3. Cut the side shoots on the previous year's vines, which form the new fruit shoots, to two to three buds.

Tip: When cutting blackberries, you should always place the scissors about 0.5 to 1 cm above a bud that is facing outwards. A bud is easy to recognize because it looks like a slight thickening on the shoot.

Instructions for a column cut

In a small garden, training on a trellis is not possible due to lack of space. An upright column shape, on the other hand, is easy to achieve. It even enables planting in the tub on the balcony. However, weak-growing, thornless varieties are mainly suitable for this type of training.

Here are the instructions for the column cut:

1. After planting, tie the two strongest shoots to a support pole. Since blackberry tendrils are not very heavy, 1-2 strong, long bamboo sticks that are stuck deep into the earth are sufficient.
2. Cut off the remaining shoots at ground level.
3. In the course of the year, guide the elongated shoots up the support pole.
4. Perform a maintenance pruning every February.
5. Cut off worn ground shoots.
6. Attach one or two new rods to the support pole and cut the rest off at the base.
7. Cut back shoots to 1-2 buds.
8. Shorten the main shoots to the desired length.

Tip: If possible, cut back the harvested cane immediately after the harvest. Leave a stump 10-15 long. In practice it has been shown that new tendrils emerge from sleeping eyes in spring

drive out.

Summer cut

Those who only cut vigorous varieties once a year are not getting the best out of the berry bushes. In addition, these tend to form a confusing undergrowth in the course of the summer. The reason for this are numerous stinging shoots that form on the side of the main shoots. They bloom and do not bear fruit, and they also compete with the fruit shoots for water and nutrients. If the rods are not mutually tied, the stinging shoots with their lush foliage will also cast shadows on fruiting shoots. The fruits can then not ripen optimally or even go moldy because rain moisture cannot evaporate promptly.

• perform a summer pruning in July
• Select and tie suitable rods for this year
• Remove excess tendrils
• Cut the side shoots back to 1-2 buds

Radical cut

If a blackberry plant is cared for annually as directed, there is no need for radical pruning throughout its life. If the cutting has been omitted, what has been missed can be corrected by looking closely. It is different after years of neglect. If you can no longer distinguish between this year's and old rods in the muddle of rods, you should cut off all rods. After the new shoots, regular, orderly pruning can then be resumed. Of course, such a radical cut is associated with a crop failure in the cut year.

A must: a suitable cutting tool

Not only cutting errors can jeopardize healthy growth and abundant harvest. If you cut your blackberries with unclean or blunt scissors, you will produce contaminated or frayed interfaces. This makes the blackberries particularly susceptible to diseases and pests. Before each cut, the blades must therefore be sharpened and disinfected with a suitable agent, such as alcohol.

Tip: A weak young rod that has to be cut off in spring is too good for the compost heap. If the shoot is cut cleanly and smoothly into pieces about 30 cm long and these are placed in a loose, nutrient-rich soil, new blackberry bushes will grow from it in no time.