Contents
The long lashes of blackberries grow fast enough to get tangled up, and given that most varieties have sharp thorns, no one wants to untangle them. But this should be done in the fall, before sheltering for the winter, and in the summer, caring for the plant or picking ripe berries. Support for blackberries is necessary, this is not a climbing plant to wrap around a fence or any other structure. Branches need not only to be guided, but also to be fixed, so a special trellis for blackberries is needed, which will support the branches burdened with fruits and make the care of the bush convenient for the gardener.
Garden trellis designs
Blackberry bushes can be upright (bramble) shoots or creeping (dewberry) shoots. The branches of the kumanika are powerful and almost rigid, they grow in many varieties up to 3 m, arching, especially under the weight of the fruit. In dewdrops, flexible shoots creeping along the ground grow even more – sometimes up to 6 m. There are also semi-creeping varieties, the shoots of which up to a certain point (60 cm, 100 cm) grow straight up, and then lean downwards, as if tired to reach for the sky.
Far from all varieties of kumanika, the branches can withstand the weight of the fruit, they need support, and there is simply no point in growing dewberries without it – the branches will intertwine on the ground in a large picturesque lump, the harvest will rather go to dexterous birds than to people.
Blackberry trellises are sure to suit industrial cultivation in large volumes. Even if there is only one blackberry bush in the garden, he certainly needs to make a support, which will not only facilitate the work of the owner, but also turn the bush itself into a decoration of the garden, emphasizing its decorative effect.
There are some of the most convenient, and therefore common designs. A do-it-yourself trellis for blackberries may well be made of metal, wood or plastic and strong wire. Usually this is a lattice structure, consisting of firmly installed (fixed in the ground) racks, on which a different amount of wire is stretched horizontally. The branches of the bushes are sent to different levels or different sides, fixed or even wound on a wire. There are simple straight racks with wire, and there are racks of different shapes, they, together with the bush, form beautiful shapes – fans, arches, houses, intricate figures. But all of them perform a completely utilitarian function – they support long heavy branches, arrange them for the best perception of sunlight, do not allow creating an extra shadow to each other, and create convenience for walking behind the plant and harvesting.
The T-shaped design involves two vertical posts dug in along the edges of the row, on which transverse strips are stuffed, and rows of wire are stretched over them. The racks should be about 2 m high, well fixed in the ground, the transverse strips determine the width of the row with their length (it can be 50 or 60 cm), they pull a wire with a cross section of at least 5 mm at a height of 50, 100, 150 cm. If it is large economy, then the rows will be long, the racks should be placed at a distance of 6 – 8 m, between the rows leave 2 or even 2,5 meters. And the plants themselves are usually planted not densely – upright – after 70 – 80 cm, and creeping – after 1,3 – 1,5 m. It happens that three rows of wire are stretched between the racks only on one side (without transverse bars), then otherwise shoots are distributed, but it is not recommended to tie them in bunches. Such trellises are directed from north to south so that the plantings receive maximum sunlight.
A V-shaped trellis is made by stuffing transverse strips at the top with a length of 70 – 80 cm. The yield of bushes on this design is higher, because the penetration of air and sunlight is much better, the bush seems to open towards the sun. Using such trellises, they organize a blackberry hedge.
There are even movable swivel trellises, the manufacture of which involves tilting to both sides of the row for targeted illumination of the sun in turn on different sides of the bush. With the beginning of flowering, the frame is turned so that it becomes almost parallel to the ground, more flowers and berries form on this side. As it matures, it rises to an upright position. On this basis, a system for mechanized harvesting has been developed in the United States: the moving part is first turned with flowers up to the sun, and when the berries ripen, it turns towards the moving combine, which removes the berries.
By building a blackberry trellis in your garden yourself, you can choose from existing options or come up with your own design option that will be the best choice for your garden.
Video “The benefits of trellis for blackberries”
In this video, an experienced gardener will talk about the benefits of trellis for this magnificent berry.
Schemes for tying stems to a trellis
Since the shoots of the second year bear fruit at the blackberry bush, in the spring it is necessary to fix the branches on the trellis on which there will be fruits, and the young replacement shoots, which will only grow, are directed and fixed gradually during the summer. It is very convenient to place them separately from each other.
If the bush is formed with a fan, then the existing shoots are fixed on one side, and the young growing ones on the other. It so happens that you can harvest only on one side of the bush, and in the fall, completely remove all the shoots from this side, they will not be confused with new young shoots, which are simply shortened in autumn and sheltered from frost. Some gardeners fix the fruit-bearing shoots right in the middle, spreading them so that they do not obscure each other, and direct the young to the right and left of them – so nothing will be confused either. That’s what they usually do with kumaniki. But dewberries have too long and flexible branches to simply direct, they are braided.
Left for fruiting, already in the spring, long branches of creeping varieties are raised to the very top, each of them is wrapped several times around the upper wire, then lowered to the middle one. They grow further, they are wrapped several times around the middle wire and lifted to the top – this continues all summer.
And young shoots, which are just starting to grow this year, are wrapped around the bottom wire. The main thing is to do it not too thickly, so that all the buds of young shoots have enough sun and freedom for further development.
Other summer residents prefer to bring young shoots to the upper level in the middle, and fix the fruit-bearing ones at the two lower levels, directing them in different directions – it is easier to harvest.
You can choose different options for tying the shoots to the trellis, the main thing is that in the fall they should be easy to remove, so that young shoots do not get confused with fruit-bearing ones, so that in summer all branches have enough sun and air.
Video “Formation of blackberries on a trellis”
In this video you will see how a blackberry develops on a trellis.
