If you’re like me, you love blackberry everything – jam, cobbler, pie, glaze, you name it. But good, fresh blackberries have a short season and, if you’re buying responsibly (that is, from a reputable local farmer), they can be expensive.
This expense is for good reason: while blackberries are one of the easier fruits to cultivate, growing and harvesting them is still labor-intensive, especially if you’re not using commercial pesticides and fertilizers.
But you don’t just want pints of local blackberries to enjoy over a summer: you want, nay, need, gallons of them for canning, baking, and eating out of hand. And to achieve this need, without destroying your bank account, you’ve decided to grow your own. Here’s how to do it.
Blackberries, like other plants in its genus (such as raspberries), grow on long stems, or canes, usually in two-year periods. This means the canes are biennial, while the roots of the main plant are perennial (return year after year). In the first year of cane growth, the plant produces no flowers (or nearly no flowers) and, therefore, no fruit, and focuses its energy on rooting and growing a robust cane. In the second year, the same cane (“old wood”) flowers and fruits, and the main plant spreads new canes.
Blackberries have super shallow root systems, and can thrive in many soils, including very poor, rocky soil, and spread and hybridize with other like plants quickly. This is why you’ll see huge thorny brambles on mountainsides and on trails, or even on the outskirts of your own yard near wooded areas. It’s very easy for us to pull up, move, and replant these buggers, and they do it themselves if left alone. Spoooooky.
So, if you plant a cane or two in your yard the first year, you can get many, many more canes and years of blackberries, with minimal work involved. Heck, you can let your whole yard get covered in blackberries within a decade. I don’t recommend it, especially if you’re going with a thorny variety, but you do you, Maleficent.
Despite the name, the “erect” varieties still benefit from some trellising for easy picking and ground upkeep. We have all three varieties growing somewhere on our property, with the second and third planted on purpose, and the first ripping my sleeves as I mow the edges of our land.
Blackberry bushes are a common sight along roadsides, fields, and woodland edges across much of North America. Their sweet, juicy berries are loved by humans and animals alike. But what does a blackberry bush actually look like?
In this complete visual guide, we’ll explore the identifying features, growth habits, and appearance of blackberry bushes throughout the seasons so you can recognize these brambly shrubs.
Overview of Blackberry Bushes
Blackberries belong to the genus Rubus in the rose family. They are related to raspberries and classified as a cane fruit. Most blackberries have prickly stems and compound leaves.
There are hundreds of blackberry species, but some of the most common in North America include:
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Himalayan blackberry – Introduced and invasive in the West. Has robust, five-pointed stems with curved prickles.
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Evergreen blackberry – Native to the West Coast Has five-leaflet leaves and reddish prickly stems
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Southern blackberry – Native to the Southeast Has slender three-leaflet leaves and arching stems,
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Allegheny or mountain blackberry – Native to eastern North America. Has three leaflets and thick stems with hooked prickles.
While most blackberries grow as thickets or brambles, a few species can develop into taller shrubs. But in general, blackberry bushes have multiple arching stems and heights between 3-10 feet when mature.
The Leaves of Blackberry Bushes
The leaves of blackberry bushes are perhaps their most identifiable feature. Almost all blackberries have leaves that are compound with 3-5 oval leaflets.
The leaflets have toothed edges and are medium green on top and paler green on the underside. Leaves alternate along the prickly stems and each leaflet grows 2.5-5 inches long.
Himalayan blackberries have five larger leaflets while other species have just three leaflets. The 3-5 parted compound leaves distinguish blackberries from other shrubs.
In fall, blackberry leaves turn a pale yellow or red color before dropping from the bush. The bare stems remain through winter until new leaves emerge again in spring.
The Stems and Canes
Blackberry bushes produce arching stems known as canes from a perennial root crown. The stems have a five-sided cross-section and light brown bark that peels in winter.
In the plant’s first year, vegetative stems called primocanes grow. Primocanes are green, pliable, and covered in prickles or small spines.
In year two, the canes become reproductive floricanes that flower and fruit in summer. Floricanes lose their prickles and turn reddish-brown and woody.
The plant continually sends up new primocane shoots each growing season. After fruiting, floricanes weaken, die back, and should be pruned out to prevent disease.
The curved, hooked prickles along blackberry stems help identify them from other shrubs like roses. But a few thornless varieties have been cultivated too.
Blackberry Flowers
During May or June, small white or light pink five-petaled flowers bloom along the sides of one-year-old floricanes.
The flowers have many yellow stamens in the center and five green sepals below the petals. They grow individually or in clusters.
Flowers are self-fertile but also welcome visits from bees and other pollinators. Once pollinated, the flowers develop into the aggregate fruit.
Developing and Ripening Berries
Tiny green spheres swell at the flower bases in early summer, growing into bright red fruits. As the berries ripen from mid to late summer, they turn glossy black.
The small individual juice sacs, called drupelets, that make up each blackberry are held together by tiny white hairs, leaving the fruit with a bumpy texture.
Berries grown on the tops of canes ripen first, while shaded interior berries take longer. Harvest season lasts several weeks from July to August in most regions.
Winter Appearance
After a growing season of lush growth and fruit, blackberry bushes enter dormancy in winter. The leaves fall, leaving just the bare floricanes and primocanes.
The stems provide food and shelter to birds and animals in winter. In cold areas, floricanes may die back to the ground, leaving the red first-year stems visible.
Hardy blackberry roots store food reserves underground to power new growth the following spring. Pruning out old floricanes and weak or damaged canes in late winter shapes the bush.
Identifying Traits of Wild Blackberry Thickets
Now that you know what domesticated blackberry bushes look like, let’s discuss identifying wild ones:
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Long, dense stands of robust, arching thorny canes.
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Five-leaflet leaves on vigorous primocanes. Floricanes may lack leaves.
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Curved prickles on angled stems act as hooks to catch and spread.
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White flowers in summer followed by shiny black berries.
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Located along roadsides, open fields, woodland borders, and trail edges.
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Spreading growth via rhizomes, root sprouts, and animal dispersal of seeds.
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Conical drupelets that collect together to form the blackberry fruit.
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Reddish bark that peels from the stems in vertical strips.
Wild blackberries thrive where sunlight is abundant. Keep an eye out for these telltale features to spot hardy feral bushes.
Key Identifying Traits of Blackberry Bushes
Here are some key things to look for when identifying blackberry shrubs:
- Arching, 5-angled prickly stems
- Alternate compound leaves with 3-5 oval leaflets with toothed edges
- Clusters of 5-petaled white or pale pink flowers
- Plump black berries comprised of many tiny juice sacs
- Habitats along disturbed sites, forest borders, and roadsides
- Trailing or erect shrubs depending on species
- Perennial roots that persist through winter
What Do Young Blackberry Plants Look Like?
Young blackberry plants look quite similar to mature ones, just on a smaller scale. The first year stems have thin green canes with prickles and small 3-5 part leaves. Tiny white flowers may appear followed by a few berries.
With proper site conditions and care, new plants should flourish into robust, arching shrubs within a couple of seasons. Be patient for the greatest yields.
Key Differences from Other Berry Plants
While blackberries resemble certain other plants, a few key differences help distinguish them:
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Raspberries – Only have three-part leaves compared to blackberries’ five leaflets. Raspberry stems are rounded.
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Black raspberries – Have very small white flowers and rounded stems. Leaves may have 3-5 leaflets like blackberries though.
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Wild roses – Have simple leaves with just a single oval leaflet. Their stems have straight thorns rather than curved prickles.
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Blackberry lily – A flowering bulb plant unrelated to true blackberries. Gets its name from clustered blackberry-like fruits.
Is It a Bush or a Vine?
Blackberry species grow as either bushy shrubs or trailing vines, so both terms can accurately describe their growth forms.
Bushy blackberry plants have upright, self-supporting stems. But blackberries with vining tendencies, especially wild ones, have long flexible canes that trail along the ground.
So while blackberry can technically refer to either a bush or vine, most people associate the fruits with tangled brambles and vines.
Key Takeaways on Blackberry Bushes
To recap, here are the key traits that define the appearance of blackberry bushes:
- Shrubby growth with arching green canes covered in prickles
- Compound leaves with 3-5 oval leaflets with toothed edges
- Clustered pinkish or white flowers that bloom in spring
- Plump black berries ripening in mid to late summer
- Likes disturbed areas, forest borders, thickets, and roadsides
- Dies back to root crown in winter, regrowing each spring
Once you learn to recognize their distinctive features, identifying blackberry shrubs becomes easy and fun. Keep an eye out for these wild edibles.
With proper site selection and care, blackberries are easy to incorporate into gardens or farms too. Just be sure to prune out old stems to invigorate growth and keep their thorny spread in check.
The sweet blackberry harvest in summer is ample reward for hosting this beautiful and useful bramble bush. Let the visual traits in this guide help you spot them growing across the landscape.
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Sustainable Baking, Cooking, and Homesteading
So, you wanna grow your own blackberries? Smart.
If you’re like me, you love blackberry everything – jam, cobbler, pie, glaze, you name it. But good, fresh blackberries have a short season and, if you’re buying responsibly (that is, from a reputable local farmer), they can be expensive.
This expense is for good reason: while blackberries are one of the easier fruits to cultivate, growing and harvesting them is still labor-intensive, especially if you’re not using commercial pesticides and fertilizers.
But you don’t just want pints of local blackberries to enjoy over a summer: you want, nay, need, gallons of them for canning, baking, and eating out of hand. And to achieve this need, without destroying your bank account, you’ve decided to grow your own. Here’s how to do it.
Let’s pull back a bit – how, exactly, does a blackberry plant grow and propagate?
Blackberries, like other plants in its genus (such as raspberries), grow on long stems, or canes, usually in two-year periods. This means the canes are biennial, while the roots of the main plant are perennial (return year after year). In the first year of cane growth, the plant produces no flowers (or nearly no flowers) and, therefore, no fruit, and focuses its energy on rooting and growing a robust cane. In the second year, the same cane (“old wood”) flowers and fruits, and the main plant spreads new canes.
Blackberries have super shallow root systems, and can thrive in many soils, including very poor, rocky soil, and spread and hybridize with other like plants quickly. This is why you’ll see huge thorny brambles on mountainsides and on trails, or even on the outskirts of your own yard near wooded areas. It’s very easy for us to pull up, move, and replant these buggers, and they do it themselves if left alone. Spoooooky.
(Also, not literally. They just do the spreading thing underground.)
So, if you plant a cane or two in your yard the first year, you can get many, many more canes and years of blackberries, with minimal work involved. Heck, you can let your whole yard get covered in blackberries within a decade. I don’t recommend it, especially if you’re going with a thorny variety, but you do you, Maleficent.
Speaking of varieties, there are three main types of blackberry plants:
- Erect Thorny Blackberries: These, as the name suggests, have thorns (the gnarly kind that can rip through your jeans). The canes stand “erect”: that is, they don’t need support (like trellising or other plants) to hold the canes.
- Erect Thornless Blackberries: Now with no thorns! These guys can hold themselves up, and don’t rip your face off. Win!
- Trailing Thornless Blackberries: No thorns, but these plants require trellising to keep the canes off the ground.
Despite the name, the “erect” varieties still benefit from some trellising for easy picking and ground upkeep. We have all three varieties growing somewhere on our property, with the second and third planted on purpose, and the first ripping my sleeves as I mow the edges of our land.
Starting Plants: Canes vs. Seeds
It’s much simpler to start your blackberries from canes or nursery plants than from seeds, and you’ll get fruit much faster. You can get bare-root or flowering canes from a nursery. You can also get canes from your neighbor, or pull wild ones from one part of your yard into another. However, I strongly recommend starting your blackberries with nursery plants. Why?
Getting your plants from a reputable nursery means you’ll know the precise variety and characteristics of your blackberry. If you take canes from your neighbor Joe, you’ll probably get blackberries, but they may be hybrids with other nearby plants, or prone to disease. Nursery canes are usually sterile (as in, disease-free) and tend to grow bigger, sweeter fruits. I also really hate thorns, and blackberry picking is already labor-intensive enough without dodging stems that tear up my hands, so I love our thornless varieties that we got from our cool local nursery.
Something to note: your nursery blackberry plants are likely a graft (that is, the blackberry plant is attached to another similar plant to enhance the coolest parts of a blackberry), so if that’s a concern, go ahead and go the wild route. Or just ask about the plant you’re getting. However, I’m a fan of the grafts, if you can’t tell.
Oh, and you can also grow your canes from seeds, although it will take hella longer to do so than from canes, and again, because many blackberry plants are actually hybrids or grafts, you may not even get fruits, or a similar fruit, from whatever blackberry you decided to put in the ground.
Okay, let’s plant these buggers. You’ve got your canes. Now what?
As I mentioned before, blackberries have very shallow roots, so you don’t need to plant them very deep. You do, however, want to clear the planting area of grass and other competing plants, because of those shallow roots. I recommend sheet mulching, and keeping the growing area well-mulched each season, to prevent this competition, as well as tall grass that may hide critters that hang out near blackberries, like mice and snakes.
Plant the canes maybe an inch deeper than the nursery container, making sure the roots are completely covered, but not so deep that the cane disappears. Plant canes 5-6 feet apart, at least, and keep rows 5-8 feet apart.
Blackberries will grow in many different types of soil, even in poor clay soil, but benefit from compost additions, looser soil than clay, mulching, and, most importantly, good drainage. Blackberries will not thrive with wet feet.
What does the blackberry bush look like? #berry bush #blackberry#gardening#berries
FAQ
How to tell if it’s a blackberry bush?
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Identify that Planthttp://identifythatplant.comBlackberry? or black raspberry? – Identify that PlantJun 13, 2012 — Blackberry thorns are heavy-duty and definitely not to be tangled with whereas the Black raspberry thorns are somewhat less challenging due to their…
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YouTube · Ethan Tapperhttps://www.youtube.comHow to Tell the Difference Between Wild Raspberry and Blackberry PlantsOct 17, 2023 — and it can be really difficult to tell them apart a lot of people just call them briars or prickers. even in the forestry. and ecology. community so…
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Agriculture Victoriahttps://agriculture.vic.gov.auBlackberry | Weeds information – Agriculture VictoriaAug 25, 2020 — Blackberry stems are erect, or semi-erect, canes that arch or trail up to 7m long. They can be green, purplish or red, smooth or moderately hairy, r…
What can be mistaken for a blackberry?
Cloudberries, Dewberries, Raspberry (pictured) oganberry and various other Rubus species could all be confused with Blackberry.Jan 15, 2025
Where is the best place to put a blackberry bush?
Your plant would love a sunny place with well-drained, fertile soil. But it will be quite satisfied with six to eight hours of sunlight. Good drainage is required to keep your plant “happy.” If your soil has high clay content, use our Coco-Fiber Potting Medium or add one-third peat to the soil at planting time.