Blackberry Bushes

Blackberries conjure up memories of summer and foraging through hedgerows but you can also grow these heavy cropping plants in your garden and what’s more is that you can also grow thornless varieties making the whole experience much more pleasurable. Blackberries are also great when gardening with children.

How to grow

Blackberries are extremely undemanding plants and will grow in any garden. If you find other soft fruit difficult to grow or are just starting to grow fruit but feel slightly apprehensive then you should try to grow these plants.

Position

Blackberries will grow in sun, part shade and deep shade. To get the best crop possible it is always best to grow in sun.

Soil

Blackberries will grow in a wide variety of soil and they can also be grown in containers. To get the best from your plants ensure that you improve the planting site by adding plenty of well-rotted manure, garden compost or multi-purpose compost, as this will help to improve drainage whilst holding on to much needed moisture. If your soil is very poor or has an alkaline pH then a variety with thorns will cope with the conditions better as these tend to be more vigorous.

Care

Blackberries need little care and how you choose to grow your plants is a matter of choice. It is recommended that you grow your plants against a wall or trellis however this is not always necessary. The main point to remember is to allow air to circulate freely in and around plants as this will help to prevent disease. After plants have fruited you can prune your plants. Only prune stems that produced fruit and cut these at ground level. Stems that did not fruit during the season will produce next years crop and it’s important that these stay in place. Fertilise plants with a general fertilizer at regular intervals throughout the growing period and water well.

Harvesting

Blackberries can be ready to harvest as early as July and it is very easy to determine when fruits are ripe. Pick fruits that are dark purple to black with your thumb and forefinger. Fruits should come away from the stalk easily and will be ready for eating straight away.

Top Tip

Birds love to eat blackberries and as a result you will need to protect your fruits. For best results you should grow your plants in a fruit cage to maximize yield.

Blackberry

This high yielding, thornless bush can produce up to 3.6kg of large, firm and glossy blackberries from mid August until the first frosts. It is such a super-producer, that it is now the number one variety used by commercial growers. Grow it in a large pot on a sunny patio, or train it against a sunny wall or fence and enjoy a long-lasting supply of delicious fruit. Garden care: Prepare the ground well before planting. Remove all weeds and dig in plenty of well-rotted manure. Space at 1.8m intervals and once planted, shorten the canes to about 9in. Each spring, mulch well with well-rotted manure. Plants flower on one-year-old wood, so the new canes need to be separated from fruiting ones. After cropping, cut the fruiting canes down to the ground and tie in the new ones that have grown that year.

Blackberry Apache

Huge, super-sweet berries about the size of bantams' eggs and weighing up to 11g each are produced on this mid-season variety from Arkansas. The thornless, erect plants of Blackberry Apache make for easy growing in the garden. Fabulous variety.

Blackberry Black Lace

No need for gloves when you pick delicious blackberries from this variety - the canes and leaves are completely thornless! The delicious fruits can be picked in August and September which are perfect for pies and jams, and packed full of vitamins. Self fertile.

Blackberry Helen

Large, firm, superbly flavoured fruit produced in abundance from early July. Excellent eaten fresh, frozen or made into jam.

Blackberry Karaka Black

These mammoth-sized, dark black shiny berries are firm and easy to pick, and are some of the largest fruits we have ever seen. Non-thornless plants produce a good crop of excellent flavor that can be picked over a very long season from early July onwards. Downy mildew resistant. These berries are easy to grow and will quickly establish and reward you with some flavorsome fruits to add to desserts or make your own jams.

Blackberry Loch Maree

The newest arrival from the impressive Loch series. Loch Maree is the first variety to have unique double pink flowers adding to its beauty. Its thornless plants produce an excellent crop of super sweet, juicy berries. They are very tolerant to any site and soil conditions and will even produce a reasonable crop if grown in semi shade once the plants are two years old. This variety is perfect for creating a decorative and productive feature in the garden, or in a large patio container. In a large container one plant could produce up to 10lb of fruit

Blackberry Loch Ness

The perfect variety for the smaller garden, as it grows on short upright thornless canes. A heavy cropper capable of producing up to 3.6kg (8lb) of fruit per bush of excellent flavor, firm glossy black conical berries. Ready to harvest from mid-August until the first frosts. These berries are easy to grow and will quickly establish and reward you with some flavorsome fruits to add to desserts or make your own jams. Bred in Great Britain.

Blackberry Loch Tay

The ideal choice for the smaller garden as it grows from short upright canes which need little support - a post is sufficient - with the added bonus of no thorns making picking easy. Rich full flavored fruit in mid-August. Produces up to 10lb of fruit per plant when established. Bred by SCRI.

Blackberry Navaho

An outstanding late-season blackberry variety, producing big clusters of large, sweet, juicy black fruit. They're delicious eaten fresh from the bush, as well as for cooking and in jams and jellies. An erect habit and thornless canes make them easy to manage and a pleasure to pick! Container grow rather than field grown, producing stronger plants of superior quality.

Blackberry Ouachita Super Sweet

The latest and greatest cultivator from the University of Arkansas. Plants are erect and virtually thornless for easy picking, and the berries (which are produced in abundance) are not only extremely large, but also deliciously sweet flavored!

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