Plant Low-Maintenance Blackberries

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Blackberries are ripe when they go from glossy to dull black, a transition that usually takes two to three days.
Blackberries are ripe when they go from glossy to dull black, a transition that usually takes two to three days.
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Blackberries are self-fertile, so you only need a few plants to get started.
Blackberries are self-fertile, so you only need a few plants to get started.
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Blackberries are prolific — a single plant can quickly yield 20 pounds of fruit or more on some varieties.
Blackberries are prolific — a single plant can quickly yield 20 pounds of fruit or more on some varieties.

Blackberries are a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow fruit that have many health benefits. Now new thornless varieties are available to make picking easier, and cold-hardy varieties are popping up in cooler climates where early winter weather made blackberries impossible until now.

Plant Low-Maintenance Blackberries

Blackberries are among the best and worst of fruits you can grow in your yard. In many areas, they grow themselves — often a little too well. The thorny vines eagerly overtake available space, and when you’re forced to take a stand, it can be a prickly, bloody battle.

If you have wild blackberries on your land, there are a few simple steps you can take now to help the plants produce better berries that are easier to pick. Better yet, diversify your home orchard — or underutilized space along a fence — to grow cultivated varieties famous for their zippy sweet flavor, large fruit and phenomenal productivity.

Thornless varieties now are available for easier picking, and in the newest twist in blackberries, you can grow late-season varieties that make it easier to grow blackberries in cooler climates where cultivated plants often lose their buds to winter weather (keep reading for more on new, cold-hardy blackberries).

  • Published on Dec 1, 2007
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