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Fruit & Orchards

Blackberry pruning question

13 years ago

I planted apache and arapo upright berries this past year. They put on very nice growth and are about 4-5 ft tall and dormant. What should I do now in preparation of spring? Also I know its not legal to propagate these varieties but how can I take cuttings or otherwise to start another batch in a different location? Thanks

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Comments (4)

ottawan_z5a
13 years ago
ejp
Why not air-layer in the spring and move it to the new location in summer. They bend very easily for air-layering.
tcstoehr
13 years ago
If you can bend a tip down to the ground in October it will naturally root and start a new plant. That cane will also fruit normally. You can encourage it by making sure the tip is in a moist, penetrable location where it can easily send roots down.
You will probably need to secure it in some way such as tying it to a rock or pinning it to the ground.
This *is* propagating... is that illegal?
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Melody: Your MIL may be an experienced grower, and know exactly what she is doing, but blackberry canes do not have to be pruned to induce fruiting the following season. With many blackberry varieties, particularly the erect thorny types that are expected to stand alone, it is best to prune them down to around 4 feet or less, either in fall or early spring. A heavy fruit load high on the canes can cause them to fall over, creating a big tangled mess. If you have them supported by wires or some other method, that danger is diminished, but you will usually get larger berries if the fruit quantity on each cane is reduced somewhat by pruning. So it's a judgment call, but definitely not an emergency situation. Although you have still not described the height of your canes, or whether they are thorny or thornless, it may be just as well to leave your canes alone for now and make the pruning calls next spring when you can see if any dieback has occurred. Even in zone 5b you can lose some canes or parts of canes to freezing weather. If you have thorny blackberries, you may be interested in some of the newer thornless types (and there are many), which are much easier prune and pick without pain. After the canes fruit, they must be completely removed, leaving behind only the newly-grown primocanes that will fruit the following season. This task requires not only a good pruner but cowhide gloves if the canes have thorns. I got rid of my thorny berries years ago when I grew tired of donating blood, and now grow only thornless on trellises. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
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debbies_cockatiels_2
13 years ago
Hey Ed,
I have blackberries. When I pruned them I felt bad
just throwing the cuttings in the trash so I stuck the
cuttings in the ground and most of the cuttings got roots.
I'm sure they would root in A pot also if that would be
easer to keep watered.
Debbie
gator_rider2
13 years ago
In you zone when spring garden seed come up are crack ground. Dig one roots start about foot from plant dig carefully down to root that over size pencil wooden. Cut root from plant dig outward until root get smaller than pencil cut again take out root from soil. Go back to smaller than pencil root dig about 6 more inches root bent that up toward top of soil and cover so straight up that become plant in few months a nice one. Now take piece root that came out ground and cut in 3 inch length lets just call those pieces total 4 maybe more are less. In same hour plant those root cutting 2 inches deep in soil no more no less use ruler. Don't let roots dry any when out ground water over roots just planted 30 months later you have nice fruiting plants in 18 months you have few berries. This way large plant farms do multiplication of plants so must be best way. All root cutting you plant don't take a hold and grow I think 60 will 40 want out hundred so plant accordantly.

Royalty is for are on resale of patted plants over set time by paten apache and Arapaho should be out date there over 10 years old. Royalty on any plants that I bought at second year was 10 cents per plant grower paid that out my cost.

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