Managing 'Kiowa' Blackberries: Pruning Ground-Hugging Canes for Better Yields

Q: Last April I ordered three Kiowa blackberry plants, spaced 5 feet apart. Last summer they spread like hyperactive ivy covering 20' x 10'. This year, runners from last year's growth flowered into thousands of blossoms and made vertical canes. Should I cut back all ground-hugging, berry-producing canes, or keep them for next year's new canes?

First-year canes were floppy due to rampant establishment growth—no problem.

Blackberries fruit on flowering canes, which then die and are replaced by new canes. Cut back ground-hugging, berry-producing canes after harvest.

'Kiowa' is upright, so expect all new growth to be vertical.

See Growing Upright Blackberries.