Blackberry vines out of control

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sherlyn Clifton Hill, MO Aug 01, 2008

What should I do with the new growth of blackberry vines? I planted them last year so this is the 2nd summer for them. Can I cut them off or should I just leave them? It has been so wet here that it has been hard to get in the garden (don't look at the weeds growing, we got over 5 inches of rain last week lol) I have some that have at least 3 feet of new growth and they are just hanging over the top of the panel. They are growing on a cattle panel and the top of it is about 5 feet off the ground.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Aug 01, 2008

Are you hoping for berries? A lot of blackberries bear fruit on 2nd year canes, so this year's new growth will be next year's berries so if you cut it back too far you won't have many berries next year. But you could cut back some of the canes and leave some, or maybe if you look for the old canes and cut them out that could help keep things under control without eliminating fruit next year.

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NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS(Zone 8a) Aug 02, 2008

The canes that bore berries this year need to be pruned all the way down to the ground. Ecrane is right that, depending on the variety, the new canes that have grown this year will produce next years berries. I never prune them at all as they set blooms all the way to the top. Just cutting out the old canes and tying up the new ones will really clean the plants up and they will look much better. Mine are thornless Navaho's which are semi-evergreen. This year's new canes have overshot their supports by about 2 1/2 feet. We plan to add another wire across the top soon.

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