How to Grow Your Own Blackberries: 10 Frequently Asked Questions
There’s nothing more satisfying than walking to your backyard and picking juicy blackberries right off the branch. For some, caring for blackberry plants might be intimidating, but we’re here to show you just how easy it is to produce delicious blackberries at home.
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a complete novice, we’re sharing helpful tips by answering 10 of our customers' most frequently asked questions about planting and caring for blackberries.
Blackberry Plant FAQ’s
1. When is the best time to plant blackberries?
The best time to plant blackberries is any time between the last freeze in the Spring and about two weeks before the first freeze in the Fall.
2. What is the best type of structure to support my blackberry plants?
On a mature plant, you will get five canes that grow up to 40 feet long each. You need to support your plants to keep the blackberries at a height that makes picking easy..
Generally, a grape-type trellis is best with 12 gauge wire at three, four, five, and six feet.
Tie the primary canes along the bottom wire using Kiwi Klip Vine Ties.. With the primary along the bottom, the laterals should grow up towards the sun.
Arrange them so they get as much sun as possible, tying them the same as the primaries.
3. How sweet are Doyle’s Thornless Blackberries?
If allowed to fully ripen, our blackberries are very sweet. According to a winery, the sugar content is 11% compared to about 6% for wild blackberries.
4. Do I need to protect my blackberry plant from extreme winters?
Our winters in Indiana can get pretty extreme. Temperatures typically get down as low as -10 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 105 degrees during the summer.
We have not done anything to protect our plants and they have survived and produced for over 35 years.
However, in areas with temperatures below -20, it is necessary to provide some protection. We recommend covering your plants with a high tunnel or a 6 mil white or clear plastic temporary greenhouse. Protecting your plants properly will help extend your growing season, too.
5. How and when do I prune my blackberry plants?
We prefer to let our canes grow to full length, instead of pruning them.
After your plant has fruited, the two-year-old canes will die and should be removed to let more sunshine reach the new canes. This can be done in December, but cutting in the springtime is best.
The plant recovers nitrogen from the dying canes and uses it to grow new canes in fall. Half the plant growth is in the fall.
6. How long does a blackberry plant live?
We actually don’t know! We have plants over 30 years old that are still producing. Two of our customers have reported their plants are over 40 years old! Think of all the things you could make with that many blackberries.
7. What type of soil is best?
Sandy loam soil is best. The loam retains moisture and fertilizers while the sand lets excess water escape. Other soils work as long as you provide good drainage. In our experience, the better the soil the faster the plant grows and the more it produces.
8. What fertilizer should I use for my blackberry plants?
We recommend using an even number fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12.
We highly recommend fish-based fertilizers since they are high in trace minerals and enzymes.
For our organic customers, we recommend Tom Doyle’s Natural 4-4-4 dry fertilizer or Tom Doyle’s Natural 3-3-3 liquid fertilizer.
9. Can I plant raspberries close to my blackberries?
Yes, there are no problems having these in the same or adjoining rows.
10. How much sun do blackberry plants require?
In the spring, blackberry plants want all the sun they can get, but 6 hours is the minimum.
Shade may reduce blackberry production.
During July and August the direct sun dehydrates the berry slightly so we recommend using 40% shade cloth or a rotating shift trellis.
Doyle’s Thornless Blackberry: The Key To Years of Bountiful Blackberry Harvests
Enjoy years of fresh, ripe blackberries grown right on your own property! Doyle's Thornless Blackberry plants are non-invasive, saving you a lot of space and labor. And: their thornless nature makes them easy to harvest without painful pricks and scratches.
For more than 40 years, we have been perfecting our thornless blackberry and changing the lives of gardeners, green thumbs, and berry lovers around the world.
Order your thornless blackberry plants today! We provide a 19-month limited warranty with each purchase.