Propagating blackberries: cuttings, lowering & Co.

The blackberry is an uncomplicated berry bush for the garden. We explain how you can successfully propagate the blackberry yourself.

The blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) is an often evergreen, prickly shrub that can be found growing wild along many roadsides. In gardens, the blackberry is mainly cultivated for its sweet, aromatic fruits, which can be harvested from June to October. Like most of our native fruits, the blackberry also belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae). It quickly grows over entire fences and trellises in the garden - a property that you can take advantage of when propagating.

Propagating blackberries: There are these methods

One blackberry bush is not enough for you? In this case, it is good to know how easy it is to propagate blackberry plants yourself using offshoots. There are several options for vegetative propagation. Upright growing blackberry varieties are best propagated by root cuttings or runners. Climbing or creeping varieties can be propagated using sinkers, root cuttings or cuttings. Propagation via seeds is not of practical importance due to the high expenditure of work and time.

Propagating blackberries by stolons

Cultivated blackberry varieties usually reproduce far less rapidly than their wild relatives. Nevertheless, it can lead to the formation of root suckers. The blackberry plant sprouts underground and emerges from the ground some distance away. If necessary, the new plant can be cut out with the longest possible root piece and planted in another place. The best time for this type of propagation is from October to April.

Propagating Blackberries by Root Cuttings

Root cuttings are only cut in late autumn. For this you use about 5 cm long root pieces, which have at least one or two shoot buds. These are placed in a box with moist potting soil and covered with a layer of soil about 2 cm deep. Over the winter, the propagation box is placed in a bright,cool and well-ventilated place. The young plants can be planted in a garden bed in spring, when the blackberries have formed shoots that are about 10 cm long.

Propagating blackberries by lowering

Many thornless varieties of the blackberry, often incorrectly referred to as "thornless" blackberries, hardly ever sprout runners. If necessary, they can be increased by sinkers. For this purpose, long shoots of the blackberry plant are pressed to the ground about 30 to 50 cm below the tip of the shoot in April and covered with a layer of soil. To prevent the shoot from bending upwards again, it should be weighed down with a stone or piece of wood. This type of propagation is best done at the beginning of the growing season in spring. By autumn, the sinkers will form enough roots to be able to provide themselves with sufficient nutrients. The independent plant can then be separated from the mother plant.

Propagating blackberries by cuttings

The propagation of blackberries via offshoots is particularly suitable for obtaining larger quantities of plants. Cuttings are the cut off, non-lignified parts of a plant that are used for vegetative propagation. In early summer, annual shoots of the shrub are cut off and divided into pieces 5 to 10 cm long. Alternatively, you can only use the shoot tips, from which the head cuttings, which grow particularly well, can be pulled. In general, a blackberry cutting should have two to three nodes (leaf nodes) with he althy foliage. The cuttings are then placed in pots with a loose growing substrate - such as Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil. Ideal growing conditions are in a warm greenhouse with high humidity. If you don't have a greenhouse, you can cover the pots with cling film for the first four weeks.

When the first leaves appear, however, you should remove the foil - this allows the cuttings to acclimate well. Be sure to keep the soil moist at all times. When the cuttings have formed enough roots, they can be separated after about the sixth week. In a sheltered place, the seedlings can get used to the outside climate until they are planted in September in the desired location.

How to propagate blackberries by cuttings:

1. Annual shoots into 5 to 10 cm long piecescut
2. Put cuttings in potting soil
3. Cover with foil or moisten regularly
4. Remove film after four weeks
5. Separate the cuttings after sufficient rooting
6. Get used to the outdoor climate step by step and plant them out

Propagating wild blackberries

Wild blackberries usually settle themselves and reproduce without any human help. Accordingly, they can also be propagated relatively easily in the garden using roots or sinkers. However, the wild blackberry is extremely persistent. Under certain circumstances, it is therefore better to use thornless, non-proliferating cultivars. Because once you have the wild blackberry in the garden, it is very difficult to get rid of it. A containment with grids and curbs promises little success with the climbing plant. Here we explain how you can permanently remove overgrown blackberry plants.

Proper care of blackberries after propagation

After successful propagation, the new blackberry plants can be planted out. In order to offer them the best possible starting aid, you should loosen the soil at the desired location and, if necessary, improve it with suitable fertilizers. Regular watering and fertilizing provides the plant with sufficient nutrients and water. After the first harvest at the latest, the two-year-old shoots should be cut back annually. Here we explain the best way to proceed when pruning the blackberry plant.

Find out when and how to properly fertilize your blackberries in this special article.