Brambles are fruit-producing plants belonging to the genus Rubus, including raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries. Although their root systems are perennial, most canes live for only two growing seasons. Annual pruning encourages stronger growth, improves airflow, and promotes better fruit production.
When & How to Prune
Standard Blackberries
Most standard blackberries produce fruit on second-year canes.
First Year: Remove only dead, damaged, or diseased growth while plants establish.
Annually: Select 5–6 of the most vigorous canes per plant, ideally spaced about 6 inches apart, and remove weaker growth.
During Active Growth: For suitable erect varieties, tip new canes when they reach approximately 30 inches tall to encourage lateral branching. Prune back the previous year's lateral branches as needed.
After Harvest: Remove spent floricanes at ground level once their lateral branches have finished producing fruit.
Primocane-Fruiting Blackberries: These varieties can produce two crops on the same cane. First-year canes bear fruit at their tips in fall, followed by another harvest farther down the cane the following spring or summer. For two harvests, retain the lower portions of the canes and remove them after their second crop. For one fall harvest, cut all canes to ground level in late winter.
Standard (Summer-Bearing) Raspberries
Summer-bearing raspberries produce one main harvest on second-year canes.
First Year: Avoid pruning except to remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood.
Early Spring: Select approximately 5–6 vigorous canes per plant, depending on spacing, and remove weak or overcrowded growth.
Summer: Allow healthy primocanes to grow for the following year's harvest. Routine topping to 30 inches is generally not recommended because it may remove future fruiting buds.
After Harvest: Cut all spent floricanes to ground level and dispose of them. These canes will not produce fruit again.
Everbearing Raspberries
Everbearing raspberries can produce fruit in fall on first-year canes and again in early summer on the same canes during their second year.
Option 1: One Fall Harvest
In late winter or early spring, cut all canes to ground level.
Allow new primocanes to emerge and produce fruit in late summer or fall.
Option 2: Two Harvests
First Year: Remove only dead, damaged, or diseased growth.
Early Spring: Retain healthy canes from the previous fall, removing only their spent upper fruiting sections. Thin overcrowded new growth as needed.
Summer: The remaining portions of last year's canes produce an early summer harvest.
Fall: New primocanes produce fruit at their tips.
After the Second Harvest: Remove the older canes completely at ground level, as they will not fruit again.
For two harvests, avoid cutting all canes back to a uniform 30 inches, since this can remove productive fruiting wood.
Loganberries
Loganberries are raspberry-blackberry hybrids that typically produce fruit on second-year canes.
First Year: Avoid heavy pruning except to remove dead, damaged, or diseased growth.
Early Spring: Select approximately 5–6 vigorous canes per plant, depending on available space, and remove weak or overcrowded growth.
During Active Growth: Train new canes along a trellis. Lightly shorten excessive lateral growth if necessary, rather than routinely topping all canes at 30 inches.
After Harvest: Remove and dispose of spent floricanes at ground level. They will not produce another crop.
Annual Pruning Checklist
Select: Keep the healthiest, most vigorous canes.
Thin: Remove weak, damaged, diseased, or overcrowded growth.
Tip or Shorten: For suitable erect blackberries, tip primocanes around 30 inches and shorten laterals as recommended for the variety.
Remove: Cut spent floricanes to ground level after their final harvest.
Repeat: Maintain this routine annually to encourage healthy, productive growth.
Helpful Tip: Pruning methods vary depending on the plant's growth habit and fruiting cycle. Always identify whether your brambles are summer-bearing or primocane-fruiting