Choose the right variety for the trellis
While wild blackberry roots can grow through a clearing or embankment very quickly and can then hardly be removed, cultivated blackberry varieties usually grow somewhat more moderately in a fixed location. However, there are also differences in the growth habit of cultivars for the garden. Some varieties grow upright and compact and do not require any significant maintenance apart from regular pruning of the harvested tendrils. Other varieties, on the other hand, form long tendrils of up to four meters in length, which you can specify the direction of growth with a trellis.
also read
- A trellis for blackberries in the garden
- The ideal location for blackberries in the garden
- Build a climbing aid for berries yourself
Choosing the ideal location
Blackberries should be planted in a partially shaded to full sun spot in the garden that has deep and humus rich soil. If you give the blackberry plants a sheltered and warm place to grow, they will thank you for the sweet fruits to ripen a little earlier. A trellis is therefore of maximum benefit if it offers the blackberry tendrils a clear place to grow at a distance of about one meter from a house wall heated by the sun. If the house wall itself is to be used as a climbing frame for blackberries with a wooden frame and a few tension wires, you should place the blackberry plants at least 40 centimeters away from the wall so that the blackberry roots are not too narrowed.
Build the trellis from wood and wires yourself
Since a blackberry trellis has to be tied up and cared for every year due to the plants that produce fruit on the two-year-old wood, it should be built up from the following materials yourself:
- Wooden or metal pegs
- Tension wire
- Tying bast or fastening rings
- Hammer for driving in the pegs
- Wire scissors for cutting the pieces of wire
The pegs are rammed deep enough in a row into the ground for sufficient stability, and cross lines of wire are stretched about 50 centimeters apart. The growing shoots of blackberries are regularly attached to these in turn so that a loose arrangement results.
Tips & Tricks
If blackberries grow in a protected position under a protruding balcony, the tendrils can also be easily shaped with wires or cords stretched upwards.
