Blackberries Propagation and Pollination

Wikifarmer

Editorial team

3 min read
03/01/2025
Blackberries Propagation and Pollination

Blackberries can be propagated by tissue culture, root cuttings, and tip layering. For commercial purposes, producers usually buy bare-rooted or potted plants grown from tissue culture in the nurseries and plant them during the dormant season, usually in early spring (late February-early March for the  North Hemisphere). The planting hole should be large enough so the roots are not squeezed too much or bend upwards. You can cover the bare-rooted plants with soil about 2 inches (5 cm) below the crown. For the plantlets, try to plant them slightly deeper than in the nursery and cover the root ball well. 

However, if you are growing blackberries in your garden, you can propagate them by root cuttings or tip layering. However, you must know that this is possible only with non-patented blackberry varieties (ask your plant supplier). Tip layering is very easy and works best with trailing types. This usually takes place in the late summer to early fall. After the Blackberries have grown and the canes start arching to the ground, just bend the new shoots to the soil, cover them with a thin layer of soil, and wait until the spring for the tip to grow roots. Afterward, just cut the plants from the parent plant and replant them elsewhere or give them as a gift to a friend.

Root cuttings are the most popular way of blackberry propagation. It takes place in the fall, during the plant's dormancy. When you cut any plant, use a sharp blade or razor dipped in rubbing alcohol to reduce the injury of the parent plant and to prevent transmitting any diseases. The cuttings are 3-6 inches (7-15 cm) long. You can make two cuts on the plant's cane, one horizontally near the crown and one with an angle further away. The reason you do this is to remember which side is going to be inserted into the soil (the angled cut). Alternatively, you can always check the way the nodes are facing. You want to insert the cuttings so that the nodes are facing up. You can remove flowers to allow the cutting to use the energy for root formation. You can buy a hormonal rooting concentration, dip the angled end inside up to the second node, and leave it for a couple of seconds. You can use a big container to place more cuttings. The holes can be opened in the soil using a pencil (or any tool of appropriate size), to place the cuttings. Avoid inserting the cuttings directly because the rooting hormone might rob off while placing them in the soil. It is best to choose the most suitable rooting medium to get the best and fastest rooting. Rooting medium examples can be vermiculite or perlite. Finally, you can place the root cuttings in a dark place until new shoots form. Keep the soil moist and transplant them into your garden once they start rooting and growing leaves.

Blackberry Pollination

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Blackberries rely on effective pollination to produce high-quality, well-formed fruits. Though blackberry flowers are self-fertile, cross-pollination, typically facilitated by bees, improves fruit set and size. Each flower comprises numerous pistils, and successful pollination ensures proper development of the drupelets. Inadequate pollination, caused by poor weather conditions like rain, wind, or extreme heat, can lead to incomplete drupelet formation, resulting in misshapen fruits. These irregularities affect marketability, as noted in research linking environmental disturbances to cohort-wide pollination challenges. Encouraging healthy pollinator activity and mitigating adverse weather impacts are essential for high yields.

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