How to Grow Blackberries (They're Not Black Raspberries!)

Growing Blackberries

Delicious blackberries are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, and fiber. They fruit on canes (woody stalks). Choose a site with:

1. Sun: 8+ hours direct sun for best yield; tolerates 6 hours; fails in full shade.
2. Drainage: If soil is heavy clay, dig in compost 8–10 inches deep when dry.
3. Space: Vigorous growers spread via underground suckers, forming thickets.
4. Disease isolation: Keep 300+ feet from raspberry beds. Avoid soil where tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, or peppers grew in past 2 years (verticillium wilt risk).

Which Blackberry to Buy

Choose a variety hardy in your USDA zone—check ratings carefully, especially online. Local nurseries carry zone-appropriate plants. Types: upright/erect, semi-erect, trailing. All benefit from trellis support, especially trailing. Many have sharp prickles (miscalled thorns); thornless varieties are easier to harvest. In cool climates, consider primocane types that fruit on first-year canes later in the season. No tree blackberries exist—tree fruits are likely mulberries.

Planting Blackberries

Start with certified disease-free nursery plants. Plant early spring. Dig hole slightly larger than root mass, set crown 1–1.5 inches below soil. Space 2–4 feet apart depending on type. Keep top inch of soil moist for 2–3 weeks until growth starts. Established plants need 1–2 inches water weekly.

Pruning Blackberries

First-year canes: no pruning. Early spring (before growth), cut second-year canes to 3.5–4 feet to encourage side branches and prevent wind/snow damage. Trim side branches to 12–18 inches. Remove damaged, weak, or rubbing canes. Thin healthy canes to 6 inches apart. After harvest, canes die—cut back at end of season, but best to wait until early next season to allow nutrient return to roots and new canes.

Blackberries vs. Black Raspberries

Both in genus Rubus, look similar. Differences:

• Fruit: Ripe black raspberries pull away leaving a white cone-shaped core and cavity. Blackberries pull straight off, keep the white core inside, have a flatter top.
• Leaves: Similar size/shape, but blackberry leaf undersides are lighter, almost silvery white.
• Stems: Blackberry stems ridged, green/tan; raspberry stems blue-green, rounded.
• Prickles: Blackberry prickles larger. Thornless varieties exist for both.

Make a blackberry salad with creamy feta.