How to Buy Blackberry Bush Plants

Contact local master gardeners who have been trained by local university extension programs to provide current regional gardening and growing expertise. Sign up for a master gardener blackberry growing workshop if one is offered locally. Take advantage of talks and demonstrations, hands-on workshops, research, advising and other assistance provided by master gardeners. The Master Gardener program offers comprehensive gardening and horticultural education to avid gardeners throughout the U.S. and Canada in exchange for extensive volunteer service to local communities.

Talk with your favorite berry purveyors at local farmers’ markets; experienced growers can offer very specific advice about the best blackberries to grow locally, often based on their own trials and errors. Study consumer listings of berry farms and growers offered by The North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association, another rich source of regionally specific information. Talk with berry-growing friends and neighbors.

Contact nurseries in your area, especially those with deep roots in berry growing. Study specialty berry catalogs and websites. Consider local growing conditions while studying new cultivars.

Buy the healthiest blackberry plant you can find, which means purchasing certified disease-free stock from a local, online or mail order nursery, even if it is tempting to accept free plants from friends and neighbors. Plant a small number of disease-free blackberry plants the first year, if the cost is daunting, then propagate your own new plants for expanded plantings in your second and subsequent years.