How to prune berry canes with confidence, untangling & identifying old and new growth, tip pruning.

[@lc7jones]

When I read about berry pruning I get it, and its straightforward and then I get in the garden and I get confused all over again! So thanks for this video, and I love looking at your garden. I made a mistake last year and pruned all my new canes back to 30cm. Not sure why. This year I'll just tip prune.

[@karensutherland-edibleeden1916]

You're welcome, what varieties of berries do you have?

[@karensutherland4484]

@@karensutherland-edibleeden1916 To clarify, tip prune the new growth from this year that hasn't yet fruited - it will look fresher than the older growth. That older growth is what you are cutting back to ground level. Cutting back any of it to 30 cm will not remove enough of the old growth, and remove all of the flowering/fruiting wood from the new canes. Does that make sense? Once you get it, its super easy :)

[@melissacox3460]

Thanks for the info. We were wondering if we should cut off the long, arching canes of our blackberries.

[@karensutherland-edibleeden1916]

The same concept applies, only prune the long arching canes if they have already fruited. These tend to fruit in mid-late summer. Prune after fruiting, until then, you can tip back the long canes until they are a pencil thickness. You can ready more about this in the new Green Magazine Permaculture Tips article March 2023

[@matthewspatch9529]

Thanks that's been really helpful. Always been a bit of a mystery for me and an area I want to go into.

[@karensutherland-edibleeden1916]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful!

[@karensutherland4484]

@@karensutherland-edibleeden1916 They are such easy and rewarding fruits! And so expensive to buy fruits...