Blackberries and raspberries are two of the most delicious and nutrient-rich berries that can be grown at home. Their sweet, juicy flavors make them prized additions to summer fruit bowls, jams, desserts and more. But can these brambly berries be grown together successfully in the same garden? The short answer is yes, with some care taken to prevent disease spread. In this article, we’ll cover tips and considerations for interplanting blackberries and raspberries
Choosing Varieties
When choosing blackberry and raspberry varieties to grow together opt for plants with resistance to key diseases like anthracnose and rust. Good resistant blackberry choices include Navaho, Ouachita and Arapaho. For raspberries, go with varieties like Caroline, Jaclyn, Joan J or Kiwigold. Avoid planting highly susceptible red raspberry varieties near blackberries, as they can spread viruses.
It is also best to choose day-neutral varieties that fruit on first-year canes. This makes pruning and controlling diseases a lot easier than with floricane-fruiting types. As an added bonus, you get a second, smaller crop in the fall after the summer harvest! Blackberry ‘Prime-Jan’ and raspberry ‘Heritage’ are great examples.
Proper Spacing
Allow plenty of space between blackberry and raspberry plants, at least 6-8 feet between rows. This prevents crowding which leads to more pest and disease troubles. The canes need good air circulation to stay healthy.
Space blackberry plants 3-4 feet apart and raspberries 2-3 feet apart within the rows. Closer spacing can work in very small gardens but requires more intense management. Wider spacing gives better yields long-term.
Site Selection
Find a sunny, well-draining spot for blackberries and raspberries. They need at least 6 hours of direct sun daily and prefers slopes or raised beds to avoid wet feet.
Do not go near places where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, or eggplants were recently grown. These crops share diseases with brambles. If wild blackberries or raspberries are growing nearby, don’t plant there because it makes diseases more likely to spread.
Soil Preparation
Raspberry and blackberry plants do best in slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5. 5-6. 5. Check the nutrients in the soil and add fertilizers or other changes as needed to get it to this ideal range.
Incorporate 2-3 inches of compost or aged manure before planting to enrich the soil with organic matter. Good drainage and moisture retention are key for healthy plants.
Planting and Care
Purchase 1-2 year old certified disease-free plants from a reputable nursery. Plant dormant bare-root canes in early spring once the soil has warmed.
Make sure there is enough space between rows and plants, and set up a trellis system before you plant. To make picking and pruning easier, train primocane types to grow in vertical cordons.
Use 2-3 inches of organic mulch to conserve moisture and reduce weeds. Irrigate 1-2 inches per week, adjusting for rainfall. Fertilize according to soil test recommendations to avoid over-feeding.
Pruning and Training
Prune canes that have finished fruiting after harvest to ground level. Keep 1-2 new primocanes per plant for next year’s crop. Remove weak, damaged or diseased floricanes anytime.
Train primocanes to wire supports and remove side branches to focus growth into main canes. This opens up the plant for better air circulation and berry development.
Pest and Disease Control
Preventive practices are key to avoiding major pest and disease issues when growing blackberries and raspberries together. Start with resistant varieties, proper planting site and ample spacing between plants.
Remove old floricanes immediately after harvest. Disinfect pruning shears between cuts with isopropyl alcohol to avoid spreading diseases.
Apply certified organic fungicides and insecticides only if a problem is identified. Avoid excessive spraying which can damage beneficial insects.
Harvesting and Enjoying your Bounty!
With good care, you can expect about 5-10 pounds of berries per plant! Pick when plump, slightly soft and fully black or red. Refrigerate promptly and enjoy fresh within 2-3 days.
Freezing is perfect for preserving your harvest to make jam, pies, smoothies or other goodies all year long. Nothing beats the flavor of homegrown berries interplanted in harmony.
While it’s possible to grow blackberries and raspberries together, it’s generally not recommended due to potential disease transmission and management challenges. Blackberries and raspberries can be susceptible to some of the same diseases, and certain diseases can be more severe on one type of berry than the other.
What should you not plant next to raspberries?
You should not plant raspberries where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, or eggplant have been grown within the past four years, because these crops carry a root rot called Verticillium that can also attack raspberries.
Will raspberries and blackberries cross-pollinate?
Cross-pollination can only occur within a genus. A strawberry will not cross-pollinate with a blueberry, but a raspberry can cross-pollinate with other raspberries or even blackberries. Also, the blooming periods for the plant varieties involved need to overlap or occur at the same time.
What should not be planted near blackberries?
Blackberries and asparagus compete for nutrients and space, harming yields and weakening plants. Asparagus is another heavy feeder that makes a bad companion with blackberries. These berry vines prefer light, infrequent fertilizing. On the other hand, asparagus needs a lot of nitrogen.
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About raspberries and blackberries (“brambles”)
Raspberries, blackberries, and their relatives (boysenberries, marionberries, loganberries, dewberries, etc. ) are collectively known as brambles. These species and hybrids belong to the Rubus genus, part of the rose family (Rosaceae). Black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) and several blackberry species grow wild across Maryland, and many gardeners plant and enjoy a variety of cultivated types. Raspberry is somewhat less heat-tolerant than blackberry.
Bramble flowers have 70-125 pistils (female part) and each pistil contains two ovules. One ovule develops into a seed, and the other into a drupelet containing the seed. Each fruit is made up of a large number of drupelets, collectively called an aggregate fruit.
Bramble crowns and roots are perennial. Canes are biennial with the following typical life-cycle:
Crown buds at the plant’s base give rise to new shoots every spring.
This plant’s first-year shoots, called primocanes, grow and make side branches during the summer.
At the end of summer, flower buds appear on the primocane stems, but the flowers don’t open. Primocane stems stop growing in the fall and make it through their first winter.
The canes that were planted a year ago are now called floricanes, and in their second growing year, they flower and bear fruit on their main stems and laterals (side branches). Lower parts of the canes are unproductive.
After fruiting, floricane plants die and have to be taken out because they won’t produce another harvest or make it through another winter. Many times, this pruning is done in late winter, before the new canes start to grow.
Some cultivars produce fruit on primocanes:
Primocane-bearing raspberry and blackberry cultivars produce fruit on first-year canes. They bear fruit later in the summer than floricane-bearing cultivars, which bear fruit in June, and they often bear fruit until the first frost.
When the plants are not in bloom, most gardeners cut and remove the canes. This makes upkeep easier.
Blackberry and red raspberry plants send out root suckers that can grow close to or far from the crown. Black raspberry produces new shoots from the crown area only. Purple raspberry plants mostly send out shoots from their crowns, but some also come up from their roots.
Blackberries and raspberries are categorized based on how they grow (upright or sprawling growth habit) and which stems produce fruit.
Floricane-bearing:
thorny erect
thornless trailing
thornless erect
Primocane-bearing:
thorny erect
thornless erect
Floricane-bearing:
thorny
thornless
Primocane-bearing:
thorny (red, yellow)
thornless (red)
Black raspberries and purple raspberries (which are a cross between red and black raspberries) have flowers.
The widespread, invasive bramble species Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) should not be planted in gardens. It escapes cultivation and disrupts natural habitat, where its rapid growth crowds out native plants.
Recommended Raspberry Cultivars
Cultivar
Comments
Anne
Yellow primocane-bearing. UMD release. Large fruit with good flavor.
Bristol
Black. Large fruit of excellent quality. Erect, vigorous, productive plants.
Caroline
Red primocane-bearing. UMD release; excellent intense raspberry flavor.
Crimson Night
Red primocane-bearing. Dark purple veins, dark red fruit. Decorative canes are also red.
Double Gold
Yellow primocane-bearing. Attractive, champagne-colored fruit with a deep blush.
Encore
Red June-bearing. Thornless. Ripens mid-summer between most floricane- and primocane-bearers.
Himbo-Top®
Red primocane-bearing. Large fruit is firm and bright red. Easy to pick.
Jaclyn
Red primocane-bearing. UMD release; the earliest primocane. Good flavor, heat tolerance.
Jewel
Black. Productive variety. Large fruit with fine flavor; disease-resistant.
Joan-J
Red primocane-bearing. Upright and thornless. Big yields.
Latham
Red June-bearing. Cold-hardy, virus-resistant. Flavorful, firm fruit. Mid-season.
Prelude
Red primocane-bearing. One of the earliest-ripening primocane-bearing varieties.
Royalty
Purple. Large fruit becomes sweeter as it colors. Very vigorous and productive canes.
Note: Dwarf raspberry cultivars, like Raspberry Shortcake®, are available for growing in containers.
Recommended Blackberry Cultivars
Cultivar
Comments
Eclipse
Thornless, semi-erect, floricane-bearing. Medium-large, dark, firm fruit that ripens early. Sweet flavor.
Galaxy
Thornless, semi-erect, floricane-bearing. Larger, sweeter fruit than Eclipse. Ripens a few days earlier.
Natchez
Thornless, semi-erect, floricane-bearing. Firm, glossy, oblong berries are very large. Ripens in early summer.
Ouachita
Thornless, semi-erect, floricane-bearing. Conical fruit with a high-gloss. Ripens mid-season. Stores well.
Prime-Ark® Freedom
Thornless, erect, primocane-bearing. Large fruits with good flavor.
Prime-Ark® Traveler
Thornless, erect, primocane-bearing. Medium- large, firm fruits with low acidity.
Thornless, erect, floricane-bearing. Super-sweet, sub-acid berries from a very prolific plant. Stores well.
Sweetie Pie
Thornless, trailing, floricane-bearing. Large, very sweet berries. Heat-tolerant and disease-resistant.
Twilight
Thornless, semi-erect, floricane-bearing. Firm, dark fruit that ripens just after Eclipse. Outstanding flavor; a little tart.
Notes: Dwarf blackberry cultivars, like Baby Cakes, are available for growing in containers. Other well-adapted thornless cultivars for Maryland include Apache, Arapaho, Navaho, Osage, Von, Triple Crown, Chester, and Hull. The latter three are trailing-type cultivars, producing very long canes.
Location and spacing
Pick a spot to plant that is at least 300 feet away from wild brambles, which can spread disease.
While full sun is best for bramble growth and yield, raspberry plants may do better in warmer parts of Maryland if they get some light shade in the late afternoon.
Red raspberry plants should be 2 feet apart in rows, black and purple raspberry plants should be 3 feet apart, and blackberry plants should be 3 to 4 feet apart.
Allow for 8 feet between rows if planting multiple rows.
Timing and technique
You can buy brambles in pots or bare-root, and you can do so at garden centers near you or by mail. Plants grown from tissue culture (TC) might not be used to freezing temperatures yet when they are sold. They should be planted after the last spring frost.
Lay bare-root plants’ roots out flat in a trench that is two to three inches deep, and then cover them with soil.
Plants that are grown from bare roots should have any old, dead canes cut off. New growth will come from the roots and crown.
Remove flowers during the first year to encourage plant establishment.
Supporting stems
A strong trellis is good for all bramble plants, even the ones that are said to be “self-supporting” (erect). So it’s easier to harvest, especially varieties with thorny stems, and the plants don’t spread out as much as they might if the stems arched down to the ground.
You can train canes to grow between two horizontal wires (called a T-trellis) or loosely tie each cane to a single wire.
Suppressing weeds
Remove weeds and turfgrass between and around raspberry plants. A weed-free zone: helps leaves and fruit dry quickly after it rains or sprinkles, which lowers the risk of diseases; stops roots from competing for water and nutrients; and keeps pest insects away that weeds can hide.
Every bramble plant needs to be re-pruned every year. This means cutting off any dead canes that have fruited to make room for new shoots to grow from the roots or crown. Renovation pruning maintains the vigor of the plants and aids in disease and insect suppression.
Floricane-bearing plants
Take off the dead floricanes that produced fruit last season when the plants are dormant.
Cut first-year raspberry shoots, called primocanes, apart so that they are 6 inches apart near the plant’s base (crown). Blackberry stemsshould be thinned to 3-4 strong primocanes.
Primocanes are also “tipped” at a height of 3 to 4 feet to help side shoots grow. For the most fruiting, the laterals are cut short to 18 inches long.
When cutting off dead, fruited canes or extra primocanes, do it at ground level so the dead stubs don’t stick out and harbor fungi that cause canker. Remove all pruning waste from the planting area.
During the growing season, cut out canes that are wilting, broken, or weak.
To help air flow and keep the lower canopy dry, red raspberry rows should be less than 18 inches wide.
Primocane-bearing plants
Two-crop method: Cut back first-year canes just below the lowest laterals after harvest. In late spring, flowers and fruits will grow on new laterals that grow from buds on the canes that was left over the winter. This year’s late-summer harvest will be much bigger than the second year’s spring harvest.
In spring, thin new shoots (primocanes). Remove the second-year canes (floricanes) when they are finished fruiting. Primocanes are “tipped” at a 3-4 foot height to encourage lateral shoots to form. The laterals are shorted to a 12-18 inch length for maximum fruiting.
One-crop method: Cut off all the dead canes that bore fruit last season at ground level when the plants are dormant. In late spring, space new shoots 6 inches apart at the base. Primocanes are “tipped” at a 3-4 ft. height to encourage lateral shoots to form. For the most fruiting, the laterals are cut down to 12 to 18 inches long. This method is preferred by most gardeners. It produces more each year, and the plants are easier to take care of.
Harvest if you can, in the morning when the dew has dried and it’s still cool. Fruits picked late in the day keep heat longer, which shortens their storage life.
Fruit should be picked often to keep it from going bad and to keep sap beetles and plant bugs from eating the ripening berries.
Ripe berries will detach easily. When blackberries are picked, the receptacle (the white center) stays with the fruit. With raspberries, the core remains attached to the plant. When blackberries lose their shine and become dull, you should pick them.
The fruits should be rolled off the plant instead of being squeezed or pulled because they are fragile. They should then be put in shallow containers.
Bramble fruits will keep getting riper and more flavorful after they’ve been picked, but they won’t get any sweeter. Berries should be put in the fridge right away, and they should only be rinsed right before they are eaten or cooked. Raspberry jam will last about a week in the fridge, while blackberry jam will last a few days longer.
You can plant raspberry and blackberry root cuttings (3–4-inch pieces of roots) 2–3 inches deep in flats or containers filled with soilless growing media. You can plant the cuttings outside once new shoots start to appear.
You can cut off root suckers and plant them in pots or new garden spots. They will need to be watered often until they grow new roots.
Should the tip of a long shoot touch bare soil, it will naturally bend over and grow roots. After a few weeks, a new plant will grow where the shoot tip has taken root. Cut the new plant and its roots away from the mother plant with a shovel or pruners. Black raspberry tip-roots readily. You can use a rock, brick, or landscape staple to bend over the shoot tips of other types of bramble and hold them to the ground.
Propagate only healthy, disease-free plants.
Plant Raspberries And Blackberries NOW And Double Your Berry Harvest
FAQ
Can I grow blackberries and raspberries together?
While it’s possible to grow blackberries and raspberries together, it’s generally not recommended due to potential disease transmission and management challenges. Blackberries and raspberries can be susceptible to some of the same diseases, and certain diseases can be more severe on one type of berry than the other.
What should you not plant next to raspberries?
You should not plant raspberries where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, or eggplant have been grown within the past four years, because these crops carry a root rot called Verticillium that can also attack raspberries.
Will raspberries and blackberries cross-pollinate?
Cross-pollination can only occur within a genus. A strawberry will not cross-pollinate with a blueberry, but a raspberry can cross-pollinate with other raspberries or even blackberries. Also, the blooming periods for the plant varieties involved need to overlap or occur at the same time.
What should not be planted near blackberries?
Blackberries and asparagus compete for nutrients and space, harming yields and weakening plants. Asparagus is another heavy feeder that makes a bad companion with blackberries. These berry vines prefer light, infrequent fertilizing. On the other hand, asparagus needs a lot of nitrogen.
