Small white bowl containing blackberry and hot pepper jam, in front of a piece of toast with jam, surrounded by whole and sliced orange jalapeno peppers and blackberries

How To Grow Blackberry Plants

Updated on Jan 11, 2024
By Baillie Blankenship

The "Sweetie Pie” variety is sweeter than any other thornless blackberry: 10-12% sugar! Excellent to outstanding flavor in a juicy, glossy black, medium-sized berry makes Sweetie Pie a winner for home gardens and U-Picks. 

HISTORY

Blackberries have grown wild in Asia, Europe, and the Americas for thousands of years. Our variety, Sweetie Pie, was originally selected in 1996 and has been propagated and tested since then in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

USES

  • Commonly used in pies, jams, and cobblers
  • Wonderful for eating fresh.

A hand holds a square clump of dirt filled with the roots of a blackberry plant; the stem goes out of frame to the left and there is a label to the right that says "Black Berry Sweetie Pie"

 

  • Blackberries can be grown from seed but are typically grown from propagated starts from a mother plant.
  • Choose a location in full sun with well-draining soil.
  • Before planting, make mounds or raised beds and build a trellis or fence to support the canes.
  • Amend the planting site with 3-6 inches of finished compost.
one blackberry plant in a cube of dirt, with a ruler for scale showing the dirt cube is about 2-3 inches at the base, and the leaves extend to about a foot acrossone blackberry plant in a cube of dirt, with a ruler for scale showing the dirt cube is about 2-3 inches at the base, and the leaves extend to about a foot across

 

  • After the danger of frost has passed, you may plant your blackberries.
  • Space plants 3-5ft apart.
  • Harvest ripe berries mid-June to late July.
  • Water 1-2 inches per week from midsummer into autumn.
  • Prune back blackberries at the beginning of winter, leaving 3-4 of your strongest canes.
blackberry plant in block of dirt lying diagonally on table with a ruler for scale showing it is about a foot tallblackberry plant in block of dirt lying diagonally on table with a ruler for scale showing it is about a foot tall

 

  • In late summer- early fall take cuttings from leafy canes or suckers.
  • Cuttings should be 3-6 inches long.
  • Pot up in a peat/sand mix.
  • Water in well and keep in a shady location.
  • Overwinter inside to plant next season.
  • Alternatively, you can use a tip rooting method to expand your current patch.
One small blackberry plant in a bright green cardboard container like the ones you buy berries in at the marketOne small blackberry plant in a bright green cardboard container like the ones you buy berries in at the market