Blackberry growing

[briggsy2011]

Hi Dobies have a blackberry bush on offer (Navaho), and i am interested in getting one. But I would like to know any hard/easy they are to grow.

Do they need a lot of support whilst growing, ie canes etc? I will be planting them at the bottom of my garden maybe against my bottom fence, with some canes to support them - is that it?

thanks Lou

[stella]

I find them very easy to grow sounds like you have the right idea. The difficult bit I find is keeping them under control, but the fruit is so lush it is worth it.

[Two_Sheds]

Blackberries: just try stopping them! Mine is along the chainlink fence at the end of my plot. The canes should grow horizontally, not vertically. Just stretch them out and tie them in. I don't use canes, just wires.

Oh, and I've got a thornless one that's just come back to life after sulking for a year: that one is supported by horizontal polyprop string tied to upright stakes. I should use wire but I didn't bother. The string seems strong enough for now

[Aberdeenplotter]

Hi Briggsy,

as Stella says, it can be difficult keeping blackberry bushes under control. The difficulty stems from the bushes fruiting on last years growth . To get around the difficulty and keep growth under control, it is probably best to keep new growth and old growth separate and to train all new growth to one side of the bush leaving the older growth on the other side.

That way you avoid the hassle and danger of getting you eyes poked out whilst pruning and also whilst harvesting the fruit. Once the harvest is past, it becomes easy to prune the old growth to the ground ready for the new growth next year.