How to Plant & Care for a Blackberry Bush

Select a planting area with direct morning sun. Full sun all day is preferred, but partial shade is tolerated by the blackberry plant. Make sure the soil is sandy with plenty of leaf mold or peat moss, and that the planting area will not retain water, as blackberry roots do not like to sit in water, and rot easily.

When choosing a planting site, consider that blackberry plants live and produce berries for 15 to 20 years.

Prepare the soil by killing all weeds and insects. Make sure all dead weeds and insects are removed from the soil, as blackberry plant roots are easily infected with the diseases they carry.

Test the soil pH by purchasing a test kit from the local hardware store, plant nursery or garden center. Dig beneath the planting area's top soil and place a bit of the lower soil in the included test tube. Add the test solution, stir the mixture and allow it to sit for the recommended amount of time. Compare the resulting color of the mixture in the test tube with the provided color chart. Blackberries grow best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 5.7. If the soil pH is below 5.5 the soil has too high an acid content. Add lime to the soil to cut the acidity of the soil and bring the pH number up. If the soil pH is above 5.7 the soil is too alkaline and requires an acidic additive, such as peat moss. Mix any additive thoroughly into the soil.

Select healthy bare-root blackberry plants from the nursery or garden center. Leaves should be whole and spot-free, and each plant should have several moist roots.

Dig a hole deep enough to submerge the roots of the blackberry plant. Stand the plant upright in the hole and fan the roots out. Cover the roots with soil and press on it or gently stand on it to pack the soil tightly around the roots. Water the plants thoroughly.

Plant the blackberry plants 4 to 10 feet apart in a row, and leave 8 to 10 feet between each row to give the plants plenty of room to grow.

Cut the stems of the blackberry plants back to a height of 6 inches to encourage new growth. New plants will bear fruit in a year or two.

Trellis the blackberry plants by stringing wire between the rows and tying the branches to the wire as they become long enough. This prevents the branches from breaking.

Fertilize the blackberry plants with sterile manure at the appearance of new growth, and provide at least 1 inch of water per week every week until the blackberry fruit is full-grown.