Wild blackberries are a thorny, rampant thicket that many know and fear from childhood. The modern garden blackberry is the opposite: thornless, easy to tame and astonishingly productive. A single well-trained plant on a trellis delivers kilos of sweet fruit, entirely without scratched arms.
The secret lies in two things: choosing a thornless variety and the right training system. Whoever understands the simple two-sides rule turns the feared bramble into an easy-care nibbling plant. This article shows how.
Thornless: the game-changer
The most important advance of recent decades is the thornless varieties. They turn the harvest into a pleasure instead of a bloody affair and can be trained along a wire without trouble. They come in two growth forms: trailing varieties with long, flexible canes for the trellis and upright, more compact varieties for small gardens.
Almost all garden blackberries are self-fertile, so you only need one plant. They are robust, hardly troubled by disease and bear richly from August into September.
The two-sides rule on the trellis
That sounds complicated but is the simplest trick in the whole berry garden. Blackberries always bear on the canes that grew the previous year. While these canes carry fruit, the new canes for next year are already growing. So that you never confuse the two, you separate them spatially.
Train the fruiting canes to one side of the trellis, for example to the right. The young, newly growing canes you tie to the other side, to the left. After the harvest you simply cut out all the canes of the fruiting side completely, they never bear again. The young side becomes the new fruiting side, and the game begins anew. That way you always keep the overview without thinking.
Why the garden blackberry is so rewarding
- Thornless and easy to harvest
Modern varieties have no thorns. The harvest becomes a pleasure, and the canes can be fixed to the wire without gloves.
- Self-fertile
A single plant is enough for a full harvest. No second pollinator needed, ideal for the small garden.
- Robust and productive
Blackberries are hardly prone to disease and bear kilos from August to September. One of the most rewarding berries of all.
- Upright or trailing
There are compact, upright varieties for small beds and long trailing ones for trellis, fence and pergola. The right one for every spot.
How you train blackberries
Build a trellis and plant
On a sunny wall or a fence, stretch several wires one above the other. Plant a thornless variety in front of it in spring.
Separate canes by side
Train the fruiting canes to one side, the young new canes to the other and tie them loosely. That is the two-sides rule.
Cut out after harvest
Cut the spent canes right out at the base. They never bear again and would only cost space and strength.
Harvest deep black and soft
Pick only fully coloured, slightly soft fruit that comes away effortlessly. Glossy-hard or red ones are still sour.
Thornless variety, two-sides rule on the trellis, spent canes out. And harvest only when deep black and soft.
The core rule for blackberries
Frequently asked questions
How do you prune blackberries correctly?
Blackberries bear on the previous year's canes. After harvest you cut these spent canes right out at the base, because they never bear again. The young canes grown this year stay and bear next year.
What is the two-sides rule for blackberries?
You train the fruiting canes to one side of the trellis and the young new canes to the other. That way old and new canes are always clearly separated. After harvest you simply cut out the whole old side, without long deliberation.
When is a blackberry ripe?
Only when it is deep black and slightly soft and comes away effortlessly at a gentle pull. Black but still glossy-hard or even red fruit is unripe and sour. Harvest the same plant again and again over weeks.
Do you need a second plant to pollinate blackberries?
No. Almost all garden blackberries are self-fertile, a single plant delivers a full harvest. That makes them ideal for small gardens where there is no room for a second bush.
Is a thornless blackberry variety worth it?
Very. Thornless varieties make harvest and care a pleasure, without scratched arms, and can be tied to the wire effortlessly. In yield and flavour they are in no way inferior to the thorny varieties. For the home garden they are the clear recommendation.
