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I purchased thornless blackberry bushes from the local (Wayne County, Pennsylvania) Conservation Department about 8 years ago. They look vigorous and are in good, loamy soil and have good drainage with full sun. They have never produced more than a handful of berries. I prune them back in the spring and they grow back vigorously, but again no berries. They don't look diseased, but they don't produce.

Do I need another variety? Should I dig them up and start from scratch? Suggestions?

Niall C.
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Nicholas DeLucia
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  • I recommend you read up on primocanes and florocanes. It sounds like you have florocane-bearing blackberries. This will get you started: https://fruitgrowersnews.com/article/cane-management-in-raspberries-blackberries/ – SethMMorton Mar 29 '20 at 15:50
  • Do you feed them at all? What do you give them? How are they on potassium and phosphorus? – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx May 28 '21 at 21:01

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I'm in the UK, so not sure if what we call blackberries are the same as what you call blackberries. Anyway, are you sure you're pruning them properly? For my blackberries, every winter I cut to ground level all the canes that have fruited. The new canes that grow out of the ground this year will fruit next year. So these canes will be cut to the ground at the end of next year. If I cut everything back in the spring, I'd be cutting back the fruiting canes and wouldn't have any fruit. For more detail see https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/blackberries

Peter4075
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    This seems to be exactly what Nicholas is doing. I've grown blackberries in Wisconsin US, and never pruned in spring - always in autumn (where I lived, due to snowcover in winter making pruning difficult), after they've fruited. It's pretty easy to tell which canes had already fruited and which canes will fruit the following year. – Jurp Mar 20 '20 at 19:23