Blackberry Pruning Demonstration

John Strang, University of Kentucky Extension Fruit Specialist provides a very thorough lesson on how to prune thorny and thornless blackberries. John provides some teminology and tips within his video that I have bulleted for you below.  

• Primocane is a first year growth and does not fruit (unless it is a primocane fruiting variety)
• Floricane is the same shoot after overwintering.  This shoot will flower and fruit in the second year
• Rednecked Cane Borer is an insect that bores into the can and cause an enlarged growth
• 4-6 canes per hill or 6 canes per foot of row
• Laterals pruned to 12 -16 inches
• Remove prunings from the orchard
• Floricanes should be removed in the Fall if possible

Pruning Blackberries

Pruning blackberries can be tricky because you have floricanes and primocanes, mechanical damage and even insect damage.  This time of year it is faily simple to tell wich canes are alive and wich are dead.  Remove the dead canes first (this will be the ones that had fruit on them last year).  Next remove the spindly canes and anything broken or crossed.  Tip back branches on the extrememly long shoots and continue to the next plant.  For a more detailed description of bramble pruning see Growing Blackberries and Raspberries in Kentucky

Before Pruning

After old cane removal and tipping back

Before Pruning

After Pruning