Proper pruning will help your berries grow
Helen Chesnut
Q My thornless blackberry canes have produced a fine crop of large, tasty berries. Do I prune them by removing canes that have given the current year’s berries? Do I prune any of the new growth? When is the best time? How many of the new canes should be kept?
A: Blackberries are biennial. Canes produced this year will carry next year’s berries. It is my preference to remove the canes that have borne berries (that is, last year’s canes) as soon as all the berries have been picked. At this time, it is also helpful to thin each clump of new canes to leave just a few of the most robust. These practices give the new canes the best chance to develop and mature, setting them up for a good harvest the following year.
When removing canes, make the cuts at or, where possible, just beneath ground level. Avoid leaving stubs.
Q I would love to know the name of a beautiful shrub I saw this summer. It has cane-like stems and long, drooping, reddish-purple and white blossom clusters arranged in tiers. The blooms are followed by small, dark, round berries. Is this plant easy to grow?
A: You have given a precise description of Himalayan honeysuckle (pheasant berry, Leycesteria formosa), a fast-growing shrub with strong stems that can reach a height of 180 cm in one season.
Leycesteria is a tough plant, very easy to grow and adaptable, though it does require well-drained soil and prefers a sunny site. I’ve grown these plants from seed with no difficulty.
The plants can be managed by cutting them down close to the ground in late winter to allow the emergence of all new growth. As new stems develop, thin them to retain the strongest. Cut weak stems off at ground level. Or, refresh the plant in spring by removing at ground level the oldest and weakest stems and thinning out congested growth. Then shorten over-long stems enough to end up with a slim, vase-shaped shrub.