Blackberries - How to prune/train?

Good afternoon all.

I have a couple of blackberry bushes. They are a particular cultivar that has been bred to be quite rigid and thornless.

The rigidity, while sounding like a good idea at the time, is what's causing me a problem now. In the wild, brambles propagate themselves mostly by natural layers. They ramble along, a bit touches the soil, it sets down new roots. I want to propagate my one the same, but it is so rigid it will snap if I push it down to the ground.

So, ideas please, how will I train/prune it for maximum yield? What if I fold down stems that have yielded fruit, as far as I dare, in so that it produces lots of side shoots? Or would I do this with the stems that have not yet produced fruit? Or would I simply chop off stems that have produced fruit and hope it produces lots more stems, or something else?

 

How long have you had it, if you cut off the fruiting stems will it send up new like raspberries, and does the one that fruited this year look tatty like raspberry canes after fruiting.

 

I don't know. This is the first year its produced fruit. Its only the second year its been in.

 

http://www.bhg.com/advice/gardening/fruit/how-do-i-trim-my-thornless-blackberry-bushes/

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/prune-thornless-blackberry-bush-after-fruit-harvest-31732.html

Found these .

 

I have.a.Himalaya Giant which is 6 years old,when it finishes fruiting I cut out all the canes that have born fruit,then refasten all the new growth from this year.It is a very wicked bush to prune as it has very sharp spines which can grab you if you are not careful.This year I look like having a bumper crop,they are just showing signs of ripening.Some of the new growth can reach 15ft long so you need plenty of space for it to move.

 

Just bottling some of the produce of mine right now and loads more to pick!

I have an unnamed thornless one, probably Merton Thornless. Every year it sends up long flexible growths up to 15-20 feet long. It will fruit on these next year, whilst also sending up a new set of unfruiting canes.

So every spring I just cut out all the ones that fruited at the base, and tie in the fresh unfruited ones onto an archway. If they are too long I cut them to fit the space available. It's easy to tell the difference between new and old as you can see the dry remains of the fruit sprigs on the old canes.

As for propagation, they often self-seed and become a bit of a nuisance. Or, if the tip of the new cane touches the ground anywhere, possible 10 feet or more away from the parent, depends on how much I've been able to control the d**n thing, the tip will start rooting into the ground. Then you can cut off some of the end of the cane and turn it into a new plant. Just like a bramble does, in fact.

I don't know why yours is not able to touch the ground without breaking off. Have you been cutting the new growths or allowing them to develop as long as they like? I think mine would snap if I cut them off shorter but at 15 feet or so, they tend to curve over naturally. As Fileyboy says, these need a lot of room.

 

I can't remember the name of it, but I remember at the time I bought it, I chose it because it had apparently been bred to be unusually rigid, so as to be compact and self supporting. Seemed like a good idea at the time, til I realised that would make it more difficult to train.

 

It would be OK if you trained it upwards on a (very tall) pillar.