Blackberry Bushes

Blackberry plants - Rubus fruticosus

Blackberries are Britain's most common wild berry (scroll down the page to get right to them) and plenty of us have childhood memories of reaching for a ripe bunch, only to end up inside the brambles. Our two thornless blackberries will take the pain out of harvest time, as well as providing much tastier fruit for a longer season than their wild forebears. As many gardeners know from painful experience, wild blackberry plants can be an invasive nuisance that rapidly take over, even in poor soil and shady corners. Wanting to buy brambles could therefore seem strange, but it is those same qualities that make these blackberry bushes ideal for getting fruit from problem areas in your garden. Unlike most other soft fruit canes, blackberry bushes are quite tolerant of clay soils with poor drainage, so long as they only become temporarily waterlogged during heavy rain.

These are the ideal plants for beginners and low maintenance lovers - not only do they do well in any soil that isn't totally wet, they are also very resistant to disease and insect attack. They flower late, around the end of May, so there is almost no chance of their flowers being damaged by a late frost - they are the only fruit that we recommend for planting in a frost pocket without protection. The named, thornless varieties are really the best for getting a delicious crop, but we've included the wild, thorny blackberry here too.

Planting Blackberries: As with any fruit bearing plant, improving the soil with well rotted manure and compost a good idea: if you have very dry, poor soil, it is essential, but if you have thick, clay soil, it may not be worth it. Your plants can be grown freely, but you will get the best results and have a much easier time if you train them on four wires, with a foot between each wire, starting at 3 feet above the ground. If you plant them 10 feet apart along the row, they should have plenty of room (if you want more than one row, 6 feet between each row is fine).

Training Blackberries: We recommend the weaving system - this separates the year old, fruiting stems and the current year's new growth, which bears no fruit. Of the four wires described above, the bottom 3 are for the new stems that grow in the first year. Tie them up over the third wire, down under the bottom wire and so on in a wave as they grow. In the second year, these will be the ones that bear fruit. All the new stems in the second year should be taken up the middle to the top wire and tied along that. After the harvest, cut out all the old stems that fruited, take down the new stems that grew and weave them up and under the bottom 3 wires in their place. Repeat each year. This system maximises your fruiting space, reduces the small chance of fungal infection and keeps a potentially unruly plant neat and tidy. 2 top tips: When removing the old stems, it is easier to untie them first and then chop them into smaller pieces while they are still sitting on the wires. After replacing the new stems on the lower wires, just snip off the last inch of each stem.

Delivery information: The planting and delivery season for blackberry plants is November through to February. Plants that you order out of season will be reserved and delivered at the start of the following season. We will not charge you until your blackberry plants are ready to be delivered and you will receive an e-mail to notify you of the delivery date. Your plants will come with helpful planting advice and we ship them by 24 hour courier service to get them to you in top condition. Please contact us on 01963 359 444 or info-(at)-ashridgetrees.co.uk if you have any questions or suggestions.

All of the Blackberry Bushes listed here are VAT Free.