Home / Guides / Fruits, Nuts & Perennial Crop Calendars
Fruits, Nuts & Perennial Crop CalendarsBlackberry Calendar
Blackberries are easy to grow and easy to prune wrongly. Understanding the two-year cane cycle and your plant's growth habit puts every job in the right month.
Key points
- Know whether your plant is erect, semi-erect or trailing.
- Canes fruit in their second year, then die.
- Prune by cane stage, not by date.
- Pick berries when dull black and easy to pull.
What are the three blackberry growth habits?
Erect types grow stiff, upright canes that can stand with little support. Semi-erect types are thornless in many varieties and need a trellis. Trailing types, often called dewberries, grow long canes along the ground and need a wire system. Extension guides from Oregon State, Utah and North Carolina all sort varieties this way.
Habit affects hardiness, pruning and trellis design, so decide before you buy. Trailing types are generally less cold hardy than erect ones, and cold climates favor the erect group.
Thornless types are popular for home gardens because picking and pruning are far more comfortable. Ask extension whether thornless varieties are reliably hardy in your area, since some are less cold tolerant than their thorny cousins.
How does the two-year cane cycle work?
Most blackberries grow canes the first year, which are called primocanes. The following year those canes, now floricanes, flower, fruit and then die. Meanwhile, new primocanes grow to take their place. Some newer varieties fruit on primocanes as well, but the traditional cycle is the standard to learn first.
Because each cane fruits once, you remove spent canes after harvest and keep the new ones. Cutting the wrong canes is the main way beginners lose a crop.
When should you prune blackberries?
After harvest, cut spent floricanes at ground level and remove them from the planting. In late winter, before growth starts, thin new canes to the number advised locally and shorten laterals as your variety guide suggests. Erect types are often tipped during summer to encourage branching, so ask extension about timing.
Do not prune by date. Prune by cane stage. Winter injury to canes in cold regions should be assessed in spring before final cuts.
A simple test of whether you pruned correctly: by midsummer, the planting should look like an open row of vigorous new canes with fruiting canes clearly separated, not a tangled thicket.
- Remove spent canes after harvest
- Thin new canes in late winter
- Wear sturdy gloves and long sleeves for thorny types
When should you plant blackberries?
Plant dormant plants in early spring when the soil is workable, or in fall in mild areas, using your frost dates and local advice. Choose a site with full sun and well drained soil, since wet feet invite root diseases.
Take a soil test before planting. Fertilizer and lime recommendations depend on your test, and nutrient management rules vary by state. Avoid sites that recently held tomatoes, potatoes or peppers.
If you buy plants by mail, unpack them promptly and keep roots moist until planting. Dry roots are a leading cause of poor establishment, and a first year lost to carelessness delays the whole calendar by a season.
How do you support and train blackberries?
A trellis keeps canes off the ground, makes picking easier and improves air flow. Trailing types need a wire system with canes tied along it. Semi-erect types need a sturdy trellis to hold long arching canes.
Tie new canes loosely and check ties each season, since thick canes can grow around wire. Narrow rows are easier to manage than wide patches, and open canopies dry faster after rain.
Plan supports before the plants arrive so you are not trying to dig posts after growth starts. A day spent setting posts in spring saves weeks of fixing sprawl in summer.
When are blackberries ripe?
Fruit turns from red to black, but color alone is not the final word. A ripe berry is dull black rather than shiny, pulls away easily from the plug and tastes sweet. Berries picked while shiny black are often still tart.
Pick every few days in season and keep fruit cool. For jam or freezing, use tested methods from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Fruit left on the plant too long attracts insects and rots in wet weather, so a regular picking rhythm also reduces pest pressure.
What pest and cold-injury issues should you watch?
Winter cold can kill canes or buds, particularly in trailing types. Spotted wing drosophila, cane borers and fruit rots are common concerns. Keeping the planting clean and open lowers many problems.
This guide gives no product advice. Ask your extension office for the current guide, follow the label exactly, observe pre-harvest intervals and protect pollinators during bloom.
Sources and further reading
Last reviewed: November 2026. Educational information, ranges only. Confirm timing with your county extension office.