A Detailed Guide to Blackberry Propagation Methods: Teaching You How to Grow Blackberries Well
Blackberries can be propagated by methods such as cuttings, layering, root sucker division, and tissue culture. At present, hardwood cuttings and root sucker propagation are mainly used, and where conditions permit, softwood cuttings can also be used.
1. Hardwood cuttings. During winter pruning (after leaf fall in December), cut vigorous, plump, disease-free and pest-free branches into cuttings 8-12 cm long with 2-3 buds, and store them in sand. In early spring before budbreak (around mid-February), insert the cuttings. Bury the cuttings 3-5 cm into the soil, planting 40-50 cuttings per square meter. After inserting, water thoroughly and cover with rice straw, then keep the soil moist regularly. With good management, the survival rate can reach 40-50%, and at best over 60%, and the plants can be lifted from the nursery in the same winter. After the cutting-propagated seedlings are lifted from the nursery, many root segments remain in the soil and can be used to continue propagating seedlings. The specific method is to apply a small amount of organic fertilizer to the nursery bed in winter, shallowly turn it once to press the fertilizer into the soil, prepare the land and make beds in early spring, water once during drought, and by April a large number of root sucker seedlings will sprout. Leave about 20 seedlings per square meter, and thereafter manage them the same as in a general nursery.
2. Softwood cuttings. From mid-July to early August, carry out softwood cuttings under shade frames and full-automatic misting conditions. Use peat and sand mixed at 1:1 for the cutting bed soil. Roots can form 7-10 days after insertion, and the survival rate can be as high as 80-90%. After 1 month, move them to open ground, strengthen management, and they can be lifted from the nursery the following spring.