pruning blackberries

[dirtydigger]

I have prune all this years crop and tied in all next years canes. I have 2 canes that are growing very vigourlys 's. Do I prune them back or leave them to grow or will they slow down over time.

[Westi]

Hi

Don't know whether right or wrong but I always have a couple of canes that are like this. I just tie these in as well, to date they have been fine & cropped well. They were so excessively longer I had to put in another post but very year there are always a couple that reach this post so not a wasted exercise.

Westi

[Beryl]

Yes, I would leave it to. If you have the room you could carefully turn it back on itself being careful not to snap the cane. You will find the new canes will still carry on growing this time of the year so keep tying in to prevent the winds snapping the ends off.

Beryl.

[dirtydigger]

Thanks for all your replies very helpful

cheers

[PLUMPUDDING]

If you cut them shorter they send out thinner side shoots, this also happens if you accidentally break the original stem when trying to bend it over, so you don't lose whatever you do.

[FelixLeiter]

I see pruning blackberries as a winter job, when the briars are quite dormant and most of the leaves have fallen. It's clear then also what you've got to work with so that it's obvious what's already fruited and is spent, and so should be removed, and the new canes are as long as they are going to be and can be tied in, snaked in to their support to accommodate their full length without shortening them. Through the summer, though, the new growths can be nuisance, in which case tie them in loosely to encourage them in a different direction but leave them intact.

[PLUMPUDDING]

By the way, I wasn't advocating cutting the new stems back, just saying that it won't kill them if you do, or if you accidentally snap one if it doesn't co-operate when you try to bend it over.