How to Prune Black Cap Berry Bushes

Black raspberries, sometimes called "Black Cap Berries," grow quickly to the point of being invasive in the wild. If you happen to have some of these berry bushes in your garden, however, you will need to prune them to keep them under control and to promote good health and better fruit production. Unlike red raspberries and other cane plants, which only need to be pruned once a year, black cap berry bushes need to be pruned three times a year, in spring, summer and autumn.

Long-sleeved shirt
Gardening gloves
Pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Put on some protective gear before you start pruning your black cap berry bushes. They have very sharp thorns, so you should put on a thick, long-sleeved shirt and gloves to protect your skin.
- 2
  Cut back all of the lateral branches so that they are 10 to 12 inches long. Look for weak or smaller branches and cut them away completely so that only the five largest, strongest branches remain. Do this in early to midspring, before summer growth begins.
- 3
  Tip your black cap bushes when the lateral branches reach 24 inches in length. "Tipping" is the process of clipping the top 2 to 3 inches of new growth off of cane plants. Tipping encourages new growth and better fruit production and should be done around midsummer.
- 4
  Remove all of the canes that produced fruit after you harvest the berries. Clip them as close to the ground as you can. All canes that didn't produce fruit this season will produce berries the following season, so leave them alone.

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