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EmailBotanical name: Rubus fruticosus
Plant type: Fruit
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Soil type: Sandy
Soil pH: Acidic

Blackberries are a very easy fruit to grow. However tempting, do not grow plants unless you are certain they are virus-free since viruses are a widespread problem with blackberries. Select high quality plants from a nursery with a good reputation. Blackberries are also called dewberries. Boysenberries, loganberries and marionberries are blackberry varieties and not different species altogether.
Planting
- Make sure you plant your blackberries far away from wild blackberries that may carry viruses.
- The ground should be well fertilized and trellises for trailing varieties should be constructed.
- Blackberries and hybrids are all self-fertile.
- Planting may be done in late fall, however, it should be delayed until early spring in very cold areas as it could kill some hybrids.
- Plant shallowly: about one inch deeper than they were grown in the nursery.
- Space upright varieties 3 feet apart and trailing varieties 5 to 8 feet apart. Space rows about 8 feet apart.
Care
- Mulching is important throughout the season to conserve moisture and suffocate weeds. Keep a thick layer of mulch surrounding plants at all times.
- Water one inch per week.
- The roots send up an abundant amount of shoots, called canes. Keep order by pruning away the majority of them so that the survivors can produce lots of berries.
Pests
- Raspberry Borers
- Fruit Worms
- Gray Mold
- Viruses
If your plant is suffering from the blackberry disease known as Raspberry Bushy Dwarf virus, the leaves will be have some bright yellow on them, and the leaves of the fruiting vanes may have a bleached look in the summer. The disease known as Blackberry Calico will cause faint yellow blotches on the leaves of the plant.
Harvest/Storage
- Pick fruits regularly keeping the central plug within the fruit (unlike raspberries)
- Although fresh fruit is always best, blackberries can be stored by canning, preserving or freezing.
Recommended Varieties
- Early - 'Brazos' 'Cherokee' and 'Comanche'
- Late - 'Black Satin' 'Smoothstem' and 'Thornfree'
- Hybrid - 'Boysenberry' 'Loganberry' and 'Marionberry'
Recipes
Wit & Wisdom
Blackberries and strawberries are very high in ellagic acid which is an antioxidant that acts as a scavenger to help make potential cancer-causing chemicals inactive. Ellagic acid reduces the genetic damage caused by carcinogens like tobacco smoke and air pollution. They also contain other antioxidants that help lower cholesterol and ward off cardiovascular disease.
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Comments
By Anonymous on April 24
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why do you not plant potatoes and berries near
each other and how far apart should they be
By Almanac Staff on May 16
- reply
According to our cooperative extension: Do not plant raspberries where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, or eggplant have been grown within the past four years, because these crops carry a root rot called Verticillium that can also attack raspberries. Destroy all wild raspberry and blackberry plants within a distance of 600 feet of your planting site if possible, to reduce the possibility that virus diseases might be spread to your planting.
Blackberry plants should be set 4 feet apart in rows 8 to 12 feet apart.
By Anonymous on April 21
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I have a raised bed of blackberries, the production is great. Some of the berries are more sour than sweet. Is there anything I can do to reverse this situation?
By Anonymous on April 23
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Pick your berries when they are fully ripe for the most sugar content. Blackberries appear pretty and black before the sugar accumulates in the fruit. Wait until the shine dulls a bit for the best taste - and nutrition.
By Almanac Staff on April 22
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Fertilize in the spring as growth starts and make sure to water well when the blackberries flower and start setting fruit.
By Anonymous
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I've only ever picked blackberries up north, had no idea they grew down here...now I want to try, but what varieties do well down here and when do you plan them? Thanks for all the info!
By Almanac Staff
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Most blackberry varieties do not grow in zone 10. You need varieties with "low-chill" hours. We'd advise you to ask your local cooperative extension. Some readers have had success with: Natchez, Apache, Kiowa, and others. Planting is best performed from December through February.
By sbolejack
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New to blackberries and need to find out about the pruning process. Do they need to be cut back to the ground?
By rosecottage4corinne
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My blackberries have now grown over the trellis all the way to the ground. My trellis' are about 4 feet high. I'm wondering if 6 foot trellis' would be better and how to prune the tops.
By Anonymous on April 23
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First year blackberry canes (primacanes) don't fruit but become the 2nd year (flouracanes) that do fruit. I allow 1 primacane to grow to 3' and and 1 to 6' (from each crown) before pruning the top and encouraging branches left and right on a wire trellis. Cut off all other primacanes at the base. I space my crowns about 5' apart. BobR
By rosecottage4corinne
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I was given thornless blackberries this year and planted them with trellis'. Now they have grown taller than the trellis and I wonder if cutting them off so they don't grow any taller and hopefully encouraging new growth from the bottom is the proper way to care for them.
Thank you for a wonderful newsletter.
Corinne
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