How to Buy Blackberry Bush Seeds

Most people delight in the taste of fresh blackberries. Usually blackberry bushes are grown from rootstock, which may not always be readily available in your area. In addition, you may want a certain kind of blackberry, either for its taste or for its size or both, that is also not readily available. Finding seeds for the type of blackberry bushes you desire is much easier; however, growing blackberry bushes from seed can be a little tricky. To increase your chances of successfully growing blackberry bushes, you should first know how to buy blackberry bush seeds.

Instructions

- 1
  Know what variety you are buying. There are two varieties of blackberries--cane and vine. If you want more of a bush, buy the cane variety. This variety requires little--if any--support. It will give you the "bush" effect for which you are looking. It is also easier to pick the blackberries from the cane variety, and it is easier to prune.
- 2
  Look for stratified seeds. Blackberry seeds are slow to germinate. In nature, the seeds mature in the soil during the warm summer months, after which they need the cold winter months before they sprout the following spring after planting. This is known as "stratification." Many seed companies will first put seeds through what is known as a "warm stratification" (at temperatures of 68 to 86 degrees F) for 90 days followed by a "cold stratification" (at temperatures of 36 to 41 degrees F) for another 90 days. In other words, the seed company has done the first part of the germination process for you.
- 3
  Look for seeds that are listed as "germination tested." This means that after the stratification process, some seeds have been randomly selected, tested and verified that they will actually germinate and sprout when planted.

How to Buy Oregon Wild Blackberry Seeds

Blackberry Plant Information

Growing Berries