How to Prune an Apache Blackberry

The Apache blackberry is a sweet-tasting variety with high yield potential and a larger-than-average fruit size -- approximately 10 grams. The bushes are thornless and have a tendency to grow wild without regular pruning. In most instances, it is the prima canes, or new growth, that is to blame. These prima canes do not bear fruit until the following year, when they are referred to as floricanes. To tame these vigorous growers, begin the pruning process in the spring, as early as the month of May, when blackberry fruiting often begins.

Long-handled lopping shears
Lawn mower or tractor

Instructions

- 1
  Cut all visible prima canes to a height of 3 to 4 feet using a pair of long-handled lopping shears. By the time fruiting begins on the Apache blackberry, prima canes have usually grown somewhere between 5 and 6 feet in height and unlike the floricanes, contain no fruit, so they should be easy to spot.
- 2
  Continue to prune the Apache blackberry’s prima canes throughout the growing season, maintaining a tidy 3- to 4-foot height.
- 3
  Shear the entire Apache blackberry bush -- prima canes and floricanes -- to a 4-foot height and 3-foot width during the summer harvest, using the long-handled lopping shears. Pruning the bush to a more compact size makes blackberry picking easier.
- 4
  Maintain a modest height of 4 feet along with a 3-foot width after harvest time until die-back begins in the fall. This heavy pruning will increase vigor during the following growing season.
- 5
  Mow the Apache blackberry to the ground with a lawn mower or tractor every three years when harvest is over. This drastic measure eradicates any diseased wood that may be on the bush. This type of pruning may reduce blackberry production the following year.

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