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Blackberry blooming #873297

Asked June 16, 2024, 10:01 AM EDT

I have about five blackberry plants set up on a trellis and pruned them properly this year. I have second year canes and only one of them is flowering. Lots of new primocanes coming up. No evidence of disease. Should I be worried yet? In clarkston.

Oakland County Michigan

Expert Response

Hi Jennifer, thanks for the question.

Assuming you do not have everbearing black berries, it may be that the primocanes are competing for resources with the floricanes. Winter damage can also be a concern.  At this point wait and see is a good strategy. Check out the following link:

Plant Growth | NC State Extension Publications (ncsu.edu)

I hope this is helpful.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 17, 2024, 8:29 PM EDT

That resource was helpful. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there is very little foliage of any kind on my Floricanes, which you can see in the first two pictures. The third picture is of my one blackberry plant that does have fruit. They are in the same general area  


Did I over prune? I did a lot of research and prune very heavy last fall to clean up years of doing it wrong. I’m wondering if I just need to wait until next year for fruit on these plants now that I am taking better care of them.

The Question Asker Replied June 18, 2024, 6:39 AM EDT

Jennifer,  

Your analysis may be correct.  Pending no problems down the line you could be in for a good harvest next year.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 19, 2024, 8:23 AM EDT

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