Correct pruning of blackberries - instructions

A close relative of the wild blackberry, which can be found in forests near swamps or lakes, grows on our sites. In summer, its bushes look very picturesque - large and very dense, bright green leaves stand out perfectly against the background of thick brown branches, almost white dried up and black frozen old shoots. Delicate flowers and ripening berries look great inside such a bush, but it is not easy to get through the thorny thorny branches to a ripe berry. To prevent this from happening in our gardens, blackberries must be pruned annually and correctly.

Content

1 Why crop
2 Blackberry pruning technology
3 Final normalization of blackberry shoots
4 Video "How to Prune Blackberry Branches"

Why crop

Blackberry is a biennial plant, which means that its shoots in the first year of its life grow, get stronger, fruit buds are laid on them, but only in the second year they bloom and bear fruit. After fruiting, the shoots grow old, there will be no more fruits on them, but the plant still expends strength to maintain their life. It is necessary to remove these old, fruiting shoots, so as not to exhaust the strength of the bush, so that it forms large tasty berries, the quantity and quality of which will inexorably decrease without pruning. It is the regular pruning of blackberries that allows the plant to efficiently spend its energy, direct nutrients to new growing shoots.

Most varieties of blackberries produce a lot of root growth that needs to be removed. Too dense bush, if not cut in spring or autumn, becomes impervious to sunlight, this harms the quality of the crop, weakens the entire plant, creates a danger of diseases and winter freezing. The fewer branches, the easier it is to cover them for the winter. It is necessary to properly thin out the bush so that it overwinters well.

Even with the best care, branch injuries inevitably occur, they can be spoiled by rodents, broken by the wind, they can be affected by some disease, frostbite. It is important for the health of the entire plant to remove them in a timely manner.

Blackberry pruning is critical to the quality of the crop. It not only stimulates flowering and fruiting next spring, but makes the whole bush much stronger.

Blackberry pruning technology

The first time the garden blackberry is cut immediately after planting, all shoots are shortened, leaving about 25 cm from the ground. Depending on the variety and type of plant, more than 10 shoots can grow in the first year. Straight-growing (kumaniks) usually give a lot of replacement shoots, their new shoots growing from the root reach 3 m and even more. Experts recommend getting rid of extra shoots that begin to grow from the adventitious buds of the root, the so-called root growth, in the summer. Remove the weak, damaged, growing inconvenient for the future formation of the bush. Creeping varieties (mildews) do not give root shoots, their replacement shoots grow from the rhizome, and many fruit twigs are formed on the shoots. In the summer of the first year, it is advisable to shorten the branches by 10–15 cm, this stimulates the lateral branching of the kumanik, and in the dew grass it stimulates the formation of new fruit branches.

In the fall, in the first year after planting, the shoots are shortened: in straight-growing plants, they are left at a level of 1.8 m or slightly less, the creeping ones are cut off at the bend, removing the tip (you need to cut off immediately after the bud). Shoots damaged by pests or those that have grown clearly weak and frail are completely removed.A normal healthy bush of garden blackberries consists of 8 or 10 fruiting shoots, if more has already grown, then an average of 10 are left - when the owner examines the plant in the spring, it may turn out that some did not survive the winter, so it would be right to leave some stock. So in the fall, extra shoots are removed, leaving no more than 10. They are cut out near the ground, and some gardeners advise to cut them even below the soil level so that the cut site does not rot or freeze in winter.

Scheme for pruning fruit-bearing blackberry branches

In the spring of next year, all the shoots that are damaged in winter are removed, and the remaining ones are shortened to a healthy bud by 10-15 centimeters. This event is carried out in early spring before the buds awaken, after which the bushes are tied up. Long branches of garden blackberries need support, they are tied or braided so that it is convenient to grow, and it is convenient for the owner to care for them and harvest them. They make supports, stretch the wire in rows, between which shoots are braided or wound on one of the wires. This also helps shape the bush.

Those shoots that will bear fruit this year are fixed on the one hand, and new ones, when they grow up, on the other. If the branches are fixed on one trellis with a fan, then the fruiting ones can be fixed in the middle, and the new ones can be let to the sides (or vice versa). This will make it convenient to harvest, help all ground parts of the bush stay in the sun, facilitate subsequent pruning and harvesting of shoots for the winter, and save the owner's hands from sharp thorns.

At the beginning of summer, many gardeners shorten the fruiting shoots in order to transfer fruiting to the middle of the branches, to stimulate the growth of fruit branches in the dew grass and lateral shoots in the kumanik.

The main pruning takes place in the fall. In the second year after planting, the owners have already collected the berries, which means that you need to remove the branches on which they grew.

If the bush was tied up correctly, then this is easy to do - cut out everything located on one side, and leave the young on the other. It is advisable to untwist them, remove them from the trellis, examine, destroy all the bad, weak, damaged ones, and shorten the remaining healthy and strong (about 10 shoots) by a quarter, roll them up and put them in a trench or just on the ground, cover them with something for the winter.

The creeping, studless blackberry (thanks to the breeders) unravels easily, and it is much more pleasant to fold it. But it is even easier to work with remontant varieties - in the fall all branches are simply cut off, the root is covered for the winter, and in the spring new fruiting shoots grow. These annuals produce a crop in the year they are planted.

Final normalization of blackberry shoots

Replacement shoots are rationed to regulate yield. Depending on the variety and type of blackberry, it bears large fruits on a certain number of branches, if you leave more of them, then the yield may decrease, and the berries may be chopped. It is believed that kumanik will give the best yield on 4–5 shoots, and it is advisable to leave up to 7 pieces with dewweeds. Other experts believe that an adult erect blackberry bush should consist of 5-7, and creeping - from 8-10 fruiting branches. Based on the capabilities of the variety, growing conditions and personal experience, each gardener decides how many fruiting shoots he needs to leave for a good harvest. A couple of spare ones are added to this number (the extra ones can be cut out in the spring), they are shortened by a quarter of the length, and all the rest are removed at the end of the fruiting process.

In the fall, the blackberry is pruned after the end of the growing season, and in the spring - before the buds swell.

This process is very important for the healthy growth of the bush, the quality of the crop, so you should not neglect it, on the contrary, it must be produced, but do it right.

Video "How to Prune Blackberry Branches"

In this video, you will learn how to prune a blackberry before wintering. Make sure it's easy.