Another for the CC horticulturalist massive - pruning brambles..

[wafter]

As those unfortunate enough to read my ongoing "contributions" will know, I've been once more trimming the brambles on the tow path.

In an effort to be a bit more pragmatic I've started trimming the long, spindly canes (as I now know they're called) as far back as possible; avoiding anything bearing flowers / fruit if possible.

I've since learned that brambles are biennial; so canes sprout one year, flower and fruit the next and die the third. As such I'm aware that going hard at the fruitless canes this year might impact next year's fruit and of course everyone (especially the birds etc) like blackberries so I'd like to minimise my impact in this regard.

So... how should I be trimming them to keep length in check but retain / encourage maximum fruiting potential? I'm currently thinking about taking the canes back to a bit beyond the point where they're encroaching on the tow path; which might encourage them to fruit from the offshoots from the canes rather than the extreme end..?

Tbh as usual I'm probably over-thinking it as the council just butcher them periodically anyway, but I don't want my good intentions to end up to the detriment of the local wildlife.

Cheers!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'm currently thinking about taking the canes back to a bit beyond the point where they're encroaching on the tow path; which might encourage them to fruit from the offshoots from the canes rather than the extreme end..?

I did this - well, I have to do it periodically - on a wildness of brambles on council ground that wants to invade my back garden.
It seems to work, there are always plenty of fruits on the canes.
Uproot any that you find on the towpath, they walk underground, so to speak

 

[wafter]

I did this - well, I have to do it periodically - on a wildness of brambles on council ground that wants to invade my back garden.
It seems to work, there are always plenty of fruits on the canes.
Uproot any that you find on the towpath, they walk underground, so to speak

Fantastic - thanks!

They're mostly in big bushes with large canes hanging over from well beyond where I can reach; but when I see young ones sprouting from the side across the path I tend to chop them off at the base. Unfortunately uprooting them would require gloves which is currently a step too far in my tooling capacity..

I'll crack on as-discussed and hopefully if it retains my interest long enough and the council don't go at them too hard I'll be able to see how that's panned out in a year or two

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Yeah, I'd agree, don't overthink it - if it is in the way of people using the path hack it back as far needs be (and then some). There are loads of brambles everywhere, you doing this won't have any effect on the birdlife.

 

[Dadam]

Currently digging a ridiculous amount out of my garden. I used to just yank them out but there's a couple of patches I've been trying to dig out once and for all, levering the root nodules out with a fork. Some the size of a tennis ball, and with roots the thickness of my big toe heading out god know where. As with Pat, there's a big patch of council owned ground at the end of my garden and it's going wild.

 

[wafter]

Cheers folks; they rarely make the route impassable - just the odd patch or stray cane spilling into / overhanging the path. The seeds for this were sewn when a favourite base layer sustained a hole when one took me by suprise; and a bramble to the face at speed is going to ruin anyone's day..

I travelled some of the bits I've trimmed in the past week and they're already making inroads again in some areas; really I need to carry to secateurs with me so I can just nip these off and I'd like to have a go at some further north as that stretch of tow path treated me well for two years of commute so I'd like to repay the favour

 

[PaulSB]

Two points. A quick correction for you, the bramble is a perennial as the crown continues to live regardless of the top growth. The canes are considered biennial as they grow in year one, fruit flower and die in year two.

A true biennial germinates, grows foliage in the first year, dies back to a crown before growing, flowering, setting seed and then dieing in the second year. Think foxglove. I'm not 100% on the next statement but I believe all true biennials are seed raised.

I admire your thinking on the brambles but feel you are definitely overthinking this. In the great scheme of things your pruning will have little impact on flower or fruit production. If a cane is in the way cut it back. That's all you should worry about.

 

[Drago]

If you're doing a proper job you should be taking the cuttings and sprinkling them across the nearest cycle path.

 

[annedonnelly]

In my experience very few people bother to go out picking blackberries these days so I don't think reducing the amount of fruit available is going to bother anyone and there'll still be enough left for the birds & small mammals.

I need to find a good spot near my new house but over the last few years I've easily picked enough to fill my freezer with a year's supply and there's been masses left over. It's probably more important to keep the path clear and it's very good of you to take on that job.

 

[biggs682]

In my experience very few people bother to go out picking blackberries these days so I don't think reducing the amount of fruit available is going to bother anyone and there'll still be enough left for the birds & small mammals.

I need to find a good spot near my new house but over the last few years I've easily picked enough to fill my freezer with a year's supply and there's been masses left over. It's probably more important to keep the path clear and it's very good of you to take on that job.

Blackberry and apple crumble is something I look forward to.

 

[steveindenmark]

I think brambles are like Roses. Designed to injure you and a bugger to kill.

So don't go gentle on them.

If I were you I would forget the "Pruning' and take a hedge trimmer to it and just cut it back to the right mass and shape you want. There will still be plenty of fruit next year.

If this sounds severe. Its what I did to my roses at the start of April.

 

[slowmotion]

I think brambles are like Roses. Designed to injure you and a bugger to kill.

So don't go gentle on them.

If I were you I would forget the "Pruning' and take a hedge trimmer to it and just cut it back to the right mass and shape you want. There will still be plenty of fruit next year.

If this sounds severe. Its what I did to my roses at the start of April.

View attachment 778374

View attachment 778376

That's a lovely garden.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Brambles...best kept neatly trimmed at about 1cm above ground level and regularly fed with glyphosate fertilizer.

 

[Reynard]

Blackberry and apple crumble is something I look forward to.

Blackberry & apple upside down cake.