Out of stock until Autumn 2012. Available to pre-order.
Reminiscent of late summers
picking blackberries from the hedgerows... We don’t all have access to miles of
country lanes these days to pick the wild blackberries but we can grow them
indoors, on the patio or balcony in containers or the traditional way in beds
or borders. Re-knowned for their health giving properties blackberries are said
to be high in Vitamin C whilst relatively low in carbs!
We’ve selected a thornless
variety, Oregon to complement our soft fruit collection. If you are likely to
brush passed it, thorns could be a pain! This is a late fruiting
August-September), heavy cropping variety and has particularly attractive rich
green parsley shaped leaves and pretty large white blossom in the Spring. It is
a relatively low maintenance plant, and with a bit of pruning can last for
15-20 years. We sell it as a 3L bush, usually about 60cm tall but it will grow
to 3m by 3m if you let it.
Where
to put it? Somewhere sunny, although it will
tolerate partial shade. In fact it will tolerate full shade better than any
fruiting bush. Make sure it at least gets the morning sun. The more light it
gets, the heaver the crop. It grows quite quickly, which although satisfying,
means that you do need to keep it under control or it will spread. The blackberry
is self fertile, so you don’t need to worry about pairing it with other
varieties. It will happily grow in pots or in beds, even trained over an arch
or up a wall.
Planting in containers You’ll need a pot of about
40-60cm in diameter and depth with good drainage holes. Drop in some broken
pottery or stones, to about 5-10 cm and then add some ordinary path gravel.
This helps to keep the compost in the pot whilst keeping it free draining. You’ll
need feet for your pot for the winter and a saucer for the summer. The feet to
keep the moisture draining and the saucer to keep it in.
You can use normal compost with
added nutrients as they like rich fertile soil. Add enough to the bottom of the
container to allow your blackberries to be planted at the same level they were
planted when they arrived.
Hold your blackberry bush in the
centre of the prepared pot and add fill the remaining space with compost. Press
the compost down with your hands to firm it in.
Water well to make sure that the
compost is moist, stop watering when you see the water coming out of the
drainage holes. Water your blackberry once or twice a week if it hasn’t rained,
just check that the compost is moist by pushing in your finger about 3-5 cm.
You’ll need to keep an eye on this as the summer comes.
Once planted, cut the canes down
to about 20cm. Don’t worry about adding any fertilizer until you see the first
growth, find one chosen for container gardening and use as directed. Each Spring
top up your pot with manure or mulch to keep it fed.
Planting in the ground As for containers, but make sure
that the ground is prepared in advance. Remove all weeds and dig-in plenty of
well rotted manure. Allow 3M between each plant and 1.8m between rows. The soil
should be slightly acid; 6.0 is ideal, but plants will do fine in any pH from
5.5 to 7.0.
Ongoing
care As the blackberry blossoms
between May and July, you don’t need to worry about frost protection. Prune
your potted blackberry in late summer early Autumn to promote good growth for
the next season. Plants flower an fruit on one year old wood, so you’ll need to
cut out the canes to the level of the compost which have fruited and keep the 4
strongest ‘canes’ for next year. If you see thorny stems cut them back as they
appear. You may need to use canes or spiral supports as the bushes grow taller.