×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening LIfe
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Authors
  • GreenPrints Writer’s Guidelines
  • Keyword Index
  • Join
Celebrating 5 Years of Food Gardening

Food Gardening Network

Growing food, fun & more

Give a GiftJoin
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening Life
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • Sign In
  • Search

Types of Blackberry Plants

Gardening Guide: Blackberry Heaven: The All-in-One Guide to Choosing, Growing, Harvesting and Cooking Blackberries

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Types of Blackberry Plants

By Norann Oleson

Thorny blackberry plant.

Thorny blackberry plant.

Blackberries grow on stems that are called canes, and are divided into three basic types depending on the growth habit of their canes. All of these types of blackberries have perennial roots that survive every year, but biennial canes. Canes are initially called primocanes, and they will only grow fruit in the second year—when they’re called floricanes—and then die back. Meanwhile, new primocanes are growing in that second year that will grow fruit in the third year, and so on.

The three types are:

Erect (thorny) blackberries

These grow as a bush and are largely self-supporting, though you’ll want to contain them from taking over the garden. This type has stiff arching canes that support themselves, though trellising makes them easier to handle and prune.

If you prune erect primocanes in the summer, they will branch out and increase fruit production the following year. Beware of suckers growing from the roots, spreading out around your garden.

This type of blackberry produces fruit with relatively large seeds. Flavor and aroma are not considered as intense as in trailing blackberry cultivars.

Erect or semi-erect (thornless) blackberries

Semi-erect Thornless Blackberry.

Semi-erect Thornless Blackberry.

These have a bushy habit but again may benefit from some trellising when heavy with fruit, especially the semi-erect varieties.

Semi-erect blackberry plants are thornless and produce vigorous, thick, erect canes from the crown. No primocanes are produced from the roots. Prune primocanes in the summer to encourage branching and increase fruit production on what will become next season’s floricanes.

Semi-erect blackberries generally produce a higher yield than trailing or erect types. Fruit quality is similar to that of erect blackberries.

Trailing (thornless) blackberries

Trailing blackberries

Trailing blackberries

These always require trellising, as their canes have, like the name implies, a long, trailing habit. They produce vigorous primocanes from the crown of the plant rather than roots. Second year floricanes produce long-shaped fruit with relatively small seeds and a highly aromatic, intense flavor.

This type of blackberry is not hardy in northern climates, experiencing damage at temperatures of 20 degrees F or below.

Hybrids

There are also blackberry-raspberry hybrids, in which the receptacle comes off with the fruit, meaning that they’re considered a type of blackberry. These include popular cultivars such as Boysen (boysenberry), Logan (loganberry), and Tay (Tayberry).

What kind of blackberries are most suitable for your garden? Please share your thoughts with us.

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

blackberries, trailing blackberry, types of blackberries

Comments
  • Dominique D. March 14, 2023

    Pictures of the different canes would be very helpful as I can’t tell what cane is which on my current plant and worry about trimming any of it

    Reply
  • Ivaetta M. October 27, 2022

    I have thornless kind. Last year I pruned incorrectly and I didn’t have very many berries. Now I’m afraid to trim!!!

    Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Growing Zones for Blackberries
  • Types of Blackberry Plants
  • Growing Blackberries in Open Land, in Containers, or in Raised Beds
  • Choosing a Site for your Blackberries
  • Planting your Blackberry Bushes
  • Nurturing Your Blackberries
  • Harvesting and Storing your Blackberries
  • How to Deal with Blackberry Pests
  • How to Deal with Blackberry Diseases
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Blackberries
  • How to Stop Blackberry Bushes from Spreading
  • Plant Profiles

  • Ouachita Blackberries
  • Navaho Blackberries
  • Chester Blackberries
  • Arapaho Blackberries
  • Apache Blackberries
  • Triple Crown Blackberries
  • Recipes

  • Best-in-Show Blackberry Cobbler
  • Pork Chops with Blackberry Port Sauce
  • Blackberry Chocolate-Chip Pie
  • Blackberry Balsamic Chicken
  • Blackberry Pastry Bread
  • Blackberry Jalapeno Jelly
  • Raspberry Blackberry Smoothie
  • Blackberry Barbecue Sauce
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Blackberries
  • Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Blackberries
  • Resources about Blackberries
  • Blackberry Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • 6 Easy Fruits to Grow in Pots Inside Your Home
  • Blackberry Heaven—The All-in-One Guide to Choosing, Growing, Harvesting, and Cooking Blackberries

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
  • Join Now
  • Learn More
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, click here to contact us at Mequoda Publishing Network.

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2025 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network®, Food Gardening Magazine® and GreenPrints® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.