How Fast Do Blackberry Bushes Grow?
To put it simply, it takes only three years for blackberry bushes to grow into a full crop, from being planted. However, with primocanes (a type of blackberry), you can harvest it in the first and second year even, and they can also have more than one harvest in one season too.
The roots of blackberry bushes are perennial, but the tops are biennial; that is, a branch that comes up in this spring does not bear fruit until the following year, and once fruit has been produced, it will die. Blackberry bushes do not need much pruning the first year after planting, because the entire stem remains alive and will produce fruit in the following year. After the first year, blackberry bushes need to be pruned every year, cutting dead canes (those two years old and producing fruit).
Some blackberry bushes may fruit from the first-year canes (primocanes), but most do not fruit until 1-2 years after planting. After planting seeds, canes grow first, usually producing just leaves or small amounts of fruit in the first year. They will fruit late in summer and early in the fall on first-year canes (primocanes), and again in year two, when the canes are two years old (floricanes).
Ever-bearing varieties of raspberries produce two crops; one is in the late summer on their floricanes, which are the second-year canes. Blackberries produce new green stems each year, known as primacanes, and new green stems usually produce leaves, but no flowers, on the plants known as the fruiting floricanes. In rare, newest blackberry breeding breakthroughs, the Primocane-fruiting varieties, also called Fall-bearing berry, produce a small harvest in the first fall after being planted from bare roots, followed by a full harvest the following year. Most of our blackberries are summer-bearing, carrying one berry harvest per winter-overgrown cane through the summer months.
| How to plant blackberry tree at home? | Lifespan and yield |
| Purchase a root bare-root or a young plant at a nursery and planting it in soil. | Blackberry plants can live for 15 to more than 40 years. |
| After planting seeds, canes grow first, usually producing just leaves or small amounts of fruit in the first year. | A blackberry bush can yield up to 2.5 gallons of fruit per plant per year. |
Both raspberries and blackberries will regrow prolifically, spreading throughout the yard, if left untended for several years. As long as you provide blackberries with the necessary nutrients for growth, you can expect them to produce a healthy harvest. Beyond convenience, growing your own blackberries and raspberries is the only way to guarantee you have fresh, delicious berries each year.
The easiest way to start growing your own blackberries is by purchasing a root bare-root or a young plant at a nursery and planting it in soil. Blackberries are typically purchased as container plants, but you can sometimes buy them as bare-root plants. Blackberries are typically sold as bare-root plants, and may generally be purchased in these dormant times or during the winter months.
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Blackberries are known to thrive under shade, in fact, they are one of the only fruits that will yield decent crops under such conditions. If you plant them close to other plants, it is possible that they will root themselves in and be a problem. Today, many people choose to plant blackberries as they are easier to grow and have good harvests. On the plus side, both raspberries and blackberries are easy to grow, but also so easy to grow that they will encroach upon whatever space they take if allowed.
Fortunately, Blackberries are closer in ease of care to Wild Roses than Hybrid Tea Roses. One reason they are successful in cool, shaded conditions is that blooms are produced later than for most fruits, and they are hardly ever affected by frost, even when grown in a frost pocket. In my own garden, which has more clay-type soil, lots of heat during summer, lots of sunshine, and a semi-arid climate, the blackberries tend to appear stunted the first year or two after being planted, then take off and grow lots of fruit thereafter.
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Depending on the variety, your blackberries will fruit during warm months from November to April, then become dormant during winter. Blackberry bush can be planted anytime during the year, though it is best if you plant it mid-fall through early Winter. Blackberry plants can be planted in fall, or you can store them in an isolated area and then plant them in spring.
Once bushes are done producing berries, and your chosen plants are dormant at the beginning to middle of the winter, return and harvest. New growth produced during spring and summer will not bear fruit that year, but it will produce berries next year.
To help keep your plants bearing fruit, you may want to fertilize your plants every couple of weeks in the summer months. You will find that as soon as fruit begins to form, the plants take more water than normal, and you will have to add water accordingly.
Each plant may produce between 10 and 20 pounds of fruit, so four or six plants could easily provide enough berries for a family of four. According to NC State Extension, one bush blackberry bush can provide an abundant crop, with fruit yields up to 10 pounds per plant annually. The Mississippi State Extension supports this, suggesting a blackberry bush can yield up to 2.5 gallons of fruit per plant per year. According to Oregon State University, expect to get between 4 to 6 pounds of fruit annually from upright types of blackberries, 10 to 13 pounds from runners, and 25 to 55 pounds from semi-erect types (more about the types of blackberries below).
The important truth to keep in mind is that you do not need a huge blackberry bush to produce significant amounts of fruit. When planning a place to grow blackberries, keep in mind a single vigorous variety can spread out to four meters or more once fully grown. Blackberries are self-pollinating plants, so if you plant two varieties next to each other, only one of them will fruit. Blackberries are self-fertile, meaning that the pollen from one plant can fertilize the same plant — there is no need to plant the other variety near it for cross-pollination purposes.
The stems are thin and flexible; once a stem is covered in fruit, it is no longer able to hold itself up, and it bends under the weight. Blackberries are sold as starter plants, either in containers or as bare-root plants. Blackberries do not, but have an other, clever, way to propagate, arching the tips of their canes into the soil and taking root there, basically making an arch.
Blackberry bushes can last for decades, though the number of fruits produced will begin to diminish after 15-20 years. If you have a fairly shaded area of your garden/allotment where no other fruits would grow then Blackberries are worth trying.
What is the lifespan of a blackberry bush?
Blackberries grow in a certain way. The canes are biennial and die after fruiting, but the plants have a permanent root system, crown, or base. Whether there are pests present or unfavorable environmental circumstances, blackberry plants can live for 15 to more than 40 years.
What is the best month to plant blackberries?
Digging up the suckers from the bushes and planting them as “cuttings” will also help you expand your blackberry patch. Although the Oklahoma Extension Service advises against planting during the dormant season (winter), most gardeners choose to do it in early February or February.