Growing Marionberries

Test the soil pH in the fall before you plant in spring time. If the soil is less than 5.5 pH, then amend it with lime. The site you choose should have full sun exposure.

Dig around 4 to 5 inches of aged manure or compost into the top foot of the soil the autumn before you plant so the organic matter has time to break down and create a rich, fertile bed for your marionberries.

Plant your marionberry stock in early spring, planting to about an inch up from the plant’s base but not covering the crown. Firmly pat the soil around the plant, and water well.

Set multiple plants with 5 to 6 feet between them and rows around 8 to 10 feet apart.

Set up stakes and wire trellises above the marionberry plants, with each pair of stakes around 4 to 5 feet apart and two wires strung between the stakes, one at 5 feet high and the other 18 inches lower.

Train the first canes that emerge from the planting stock around the wires, and leave the new canes that emerge over the summer to trail on the ground. These new canes are called primocanes.

Harvest berries during mid- to late summer and into early autumn. Cut off canes that produced berries at the base of the plant with pruning shears in late autumn, then train the primocanes around the wires.

Winterize marionberry plants by covering them with straw or burlap to protect them from winter frost damage.