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- 1). Examine the blackberry bush to determine which canes are floricanes and which are primocanes. Floricanes will have fruit buds where clusters of berries will grow. Primocanes do not have fruit buds.
- 2). Protect yourself well with long-sleeved shirt, long pants and work gloves. Blackberries have very sharp thorns that can easily draw blood.
- 3). Prune primocanes when they reach a height of seven or eight feet. This will be in late June and July. Trim them to a height of about 42 inches. If you prune the primocanes before this point, the lateral shoots will grow out too quickly and interfere with harvesting the berries.
- 4). Wait until the harvest is over before pruning the floricanes. Use loppers and cut them off at ground level.
- 5). Trim the lateral shoots that grow from the primocanes to a length of about 18 inches during the spring of the next year. If you do it earlier, you risk winter damage to the plant. You can leave up to 12 fruit buds on a sturdy shoot. Weaker shoots should have only six or eight buds left.
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