pruning back blackberries early season...

majorcatfish

Garden Master
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
6,869
Reaction score
11,342
Points
377
Location
north carolina
as promised here it is.....

don't be scared to prune them this time of the year, actually you will have a better harvest doing this.
first off before going out and prune, if you live in an area that has chiggers best you spray yourself with deet
spray yourself head to toe and then put your cloths on and spray them as well.
chigger bites can make your life a itching hell for weeks till they heal..



well lets get going on pruning.....
first off you need to closely look over your blackberries, do they look healthy or is there something that catches your eye.
unfortunately there was a few things that caught my eye this year that needed attention.

healthy productive floricane runners.

there is no need to do anything to them...



non-productive floricane runners

best that you remove them even if there are a couple shoots bearing berries,it's a waste of energy to the rest of the productive runners
you have to look at the runner and find where it start to become productive and that is were you need to prune it back too.



while looking over your runners if you notice that you have had poor pollination of your berries might as well prune them out as well.
a berry here and there..... look at the runner and follow it back to where you see good pollination prune it back to there.
no reason to keep it....


runners that have died back

since you have been looking over your runners and have noticed that you have dead runners, it's a good time to prune them out as well. all they are doing is harboring diseases.
cut them back to the first good productive bud and remove it.


pruning for air flow
will prune all lower runners on the floricanes from the ground to around 15" up the cane.
this is will help in deterring pests and diseases, since you have done this it's a good time to sprinkle a little sevin dust around the crown<thats up to you>
before pruning


after pruning


while pruning do not prune between the 2 trellis wires <if you have do not have too>
blackberries are are prone to sunscald...<while growing the temperature is too hot and the sun is bearing directly down on them and they burst,the berries growing inside the canopy turn out to be the best>
will do a another posting on this later this summer.......

for the problems i have noticed this year....

some of the original mothers or daughters are or not producing primocanes in any numbers.

here is a original mother, no new growth this will be her last year.....


here is one of her daughters, a little slow but a primocane is coming up
but her days are numbered.


found this on one of my 2 year old...
it's called berry rosette/double bloom/witches broom.. it comes from being infected from wild berries
the only thing you can do is remove it and as well the wild berries that are growing on your property.

you need to prune it back to the cane.

once removed spray with a copper base fungicide....

everything you have pruned out you need to remove it from the area....


NOTE....
knowing that some of you do not like pesticides or fungicides, but if you can alternative use it... will stick with i know that works...
BUT IF YOU DO USE THEM, USE THEM ACCORDING TO THE PACKAGE LABEL

hope this will help you grow the best berries...
more to come as the season goes....

mc...
 

bj taylor

Garden Ornament
Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Messages
1,099
Reaction score
16
Points
92
Location
North Central Texas
how do you know you are having poor pollination vs not being pollinated (plant's fault vs insect failing to pollinate?)
w/the berry rosette, what do you mean prune it back to the "cane"? do you take the entire plant out? the berry rosette in wild berries - is that a disease in wild berries or a natural occurrence?
is this regimen applicable to all berries or specific to your region?
 

majorcatfish

Garden Master
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
6,869
Reaction score
11,342
Points
377
Location
north carolina
bj taylor said:
how do you know you are having poor pollination vs not being pollinated (plant's fault vs insect failing to pollinate?)
w/the berry rosette, what do you mean prune it back to the "cane"? do you take the entire plant out? the berry rosette in wild berries - is that a disease in wild berries or a natural occurrence?
is this regimen applicable to all berries or specific to your region?
they are self pollinating, but when bees<insects> do not interact with them have seen a reduction in berries. in a perfect world they should all be pollinated but there is an occasion that some on a healthy shoots do not get pollinated.
and not worth your time to remove...



but when you see this.
it is worth your time to prune out, like said follow the runner back to a healthy shoot and prune just before it.

to answer your question it's both....

as for the rosette, witches broom it is spread from wild blackberries to domesticated cultivars.
no you do not need to remove the plant, once you see it follow that shoot back to the floricane and prune it there.
the biggest thing is to remove all wild berry canes....
in years past i have never seen a rosette in wild berries.
 

baymule

Garden Master
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
18,770
Reaction score
36,702
Points
457
Location
Trinity County Texas
That was a great post, very informative. The pictures really show us what to look for in ways that a description only couldn't do. What variety are your berries? And I see they are thornless too!
 

majorcatfish

Garden Master
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
6,869
Reaction score
11,342
Points
377
Location
north carolina
baymule said:
That was a great post, very informative. The pictures really show us what to look for in ways that a description only couldn't do. What variety are your berries? And I see they are thornless too!
They are triple crown and yes thornless..
 

the1honeycomb

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Messages
658
Reaction score
91
Points
153
Location
Yadkinville NC Zone 7a
Major you are a wonderful teacher thank you for being so thorough and helpful!! :bow
I have wild raspberries that I am trying to cultivate, and some that I bought and am now think I messed up by
putting them near my Thornless Blackberries!!!:hide Do I need to just remove them oand transplant them or send them to the great compost in the sky??:somad

Hope your well thanks again
:thumbsup
 

vfem

Garden Addicted
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
7,516
Reaction score
43
Points
242
Location
Fuquay, NC
You know this is what we do with raspberries too, we have to be careful as we're growing double fruiting raspberries and we don't want to cause damage that will affect our fall harvests... but canes recovery really well from multiple pruning. I love how well you have yours strung and growing! :)
 
Top