New to gardening: question about blackberries in Winter

13 years ago

Hi everyone!

I'm new to GardenWeb and new to gardening, too. A friend in California have me three thornless blackberry plants, which I drove home to northern Utah and planted. They were all under a foot tall when I planted them, but it looks like they're an erect variety (my previous google searches indicated that they'd either be erect or trailing).

These plants came from an established plant from California, and I'm worried that the change in climate will hurt them this winter. I've read that mulching them can protect them, but even though they're still short, I feel like they're too perky to put mulch on top of them.

Should I wrap them in something when the snow starts to fall? Or will they just learn to survive?

Thanks!! :)

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Comments (5)

denninmi
13 years ago
Well, the thing about blackberries is that there are a LOT of different cultivars, and several species. Some of them are pretty tender, others will survive to Zone 5 and possibly Zone 4.

Northern Utah sounds "iffy" to me for most blackberries -- if I'm not mistaken, it's a pretty harsh climate, probably Zone 4. Of course, elevation and other factors can make a big difference, resulting in a lot of microclimates that could be milder than the overall climate.

Mulching will really protect them -- a lot of times, people will lay plants like this on the ground and then cover with a deep layer of straw or leaves. As long as they don't break in the process, you probably could bend them down and weight them down to allow you to cover them.

If that doesn't work, you could probably put something like bales of straw, bags of leaves, or sheets of cardboard or even foamboard insulation around them to make a shelter.

The only problem with this is mice/voles LOVE to eat blackberry canes -- I personally have tried to grow more tender varieties here, but can't overwinter them WITHOUT cover due to the climate, yet when I try to cover, it creates the perfect shelter for voles, and they totally destroy the canes during the winter.

Good luck, hope it works out and they make the winter for you.
blueplate
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for the feedback! My region is technically zone 5, it seems, but I'm sure there are areas where that's different.

It sounds like I do want to cover them somehow, just to be safe. I'll see what I can come up with!

And thanks for the warning about voles--I feel like we don't have any because I never see them in the house, but that's likely because of the cats!
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larry_gene
13 years ago
You might consider growing these as container plants. Use a minimum of 5-gallon containers per plant. Blackberries go dormant in the winter, just store them inside. You won't get a large crop of berries, but it's better than nothing. Or try just one of the three plants in a container, the others stay in the ground.

Find out from a local nursery or other source if anyone else is growing blackberries nearby.
blueplate
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you! I will consider that--I already have other plants in containers, so it wouldn't be too hard!
oregonwoodsmoke
13 years ago
I am in zone 5 and no blackberries will grow here without winter protection.

If you want berries, your best bet is raspberries; they have no problems growing in zone 5. You might be able to grow blueberries, also, if you get the right variety.

Blackberries are a bit large for house plants. You can put them in the ground and after they are dormant in the fall, cover them in loose straw.

I don't know what your weather is like, but here it is too late to put berries in the ground. So I suggest that you wait until those go dormant and then move them into a garage for the winter. Then plant them outside in the spring and plan to cover them every winter.

New to gardening: question about blackberries in Winter

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denninmi

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New to gardening: question about blackberries in Winter

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denninmi

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