Having a blackberry bush in your yard or garden is like having a living vitamin bush. Blackberries are loaded with great vitamins, are high in fiber and also contain cancer-fighting substances. If you plan to purchase a blackberry bush, or already have one, here’s all you need to know to grow delicious and nutritious blackberries for snacking, freezing, or baking.
Blackberry bushes will grow well in zones five through nine. Check to see if blackberries will grow successfully in your zone by checking out the USDA Hardiness Zone Map here.
Soil Requirements for a Blackberry Bush
Blackberry bushes will grow in just about any type of soil. To grow more productive blackberries, plant them in well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Slightly acid soils with pH between 5.5 and 6.5 are best suitable for blackberries.
Planting Your Blackberry Bush, Sun Requirements
Choose a location in your landscape that will give the blackberry bush plenty of room to grow and plenty of sun. Blackberry bushes can grow to be six feet wide and just about as tall, so keep this in mind when planting. When you’re ready to plant your new blackberry bush, dig the hole twice as big as its container. Try not to plant the bush any deeper than it was in the container. If you have some organic matter, add some to the bottom of the hole to provide a soft cushy foundation for the blackberry bush. Fill the hole with water, add soil around the roots (add more organic matter if possible) to fill up the hole and tamp down.
Fertilizing Your Blackberry Bush
Blackberry bush roots do not grow very deep, which means you must be careful when fertilizing. To avoid burning (or killing) the blackberry bush, you should put the fertilizer in a circle around the plant, steering clear of the plant itself. Remember that you’re fertilizing the roots, not the plant stems, or canes as they’re sometimes called. Apply a 10-10-10 or a 13-13-13 fertilizer in the spring and again after harvest. Some fruit fertilizer spikes may be substituted for the previously mentioned.
Mulching Your Blackberry Bush
Mulching around the blackberry bush will help retain valuable moisture, especially during the scorching summer months. A good layer of mulch will also help repel unwanted weeds, grass and insects. A couple of feet of mulch around the bush, an inch or two thick, will help tremendously. If your blackberry bush is planted on a slope, try using bark nuggets instead of the shredded mulch. This will prevent the mulch from washing away.
Watering Your Blackberry Bush
Blackberry bushes do not like to be soaked in water, well-drained soil is preferred. Water requirements will differ depending on the time of year. For example, during the scorching summer months, your blackberry bush may require more to drink than in colder months.
Pruning Your Blackberry Bush
Spring is the best time to prune a blackberry bush. The canes (stems) usually grow one season, produce fruit the next season, then die. But don’t worry, the blackberry bush will produce new shoots in place of the dead ones. Once the canes have fruited and died, they should be cut back to just above the ground. Darker canes and ones with dying leaves should be also be pruned to just above the ground.
Have a fun summer and enjoy your home-grown blackberries!
Sources:
http://www.kootenaygardening.com/fruit_garden.htm
http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/flora/gardening/articles/summer-pruning-blackberries.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS104
