Hi there I'm a novice gardener at best, and I'm looking for a little advice to help with a small project that I'm attempting over the next few months. I've been harvesting some blackberry bushes from a few ditches and other places, and transplanted them into a planter box, the thing I'm concerned about is how to help them survive or possibly grow through the winter months. I had thought possibly a building some kind of hoop house to help keep them a little warmer might be useful, and if its necessary I can bring them into my garage and use grow lights. I know most often people are looking to kill off blackberry bushes but I'm doing my best to grow these ones as large as I can for a personal project. Any growing tips or other advice for what environment is best suited for them would be enormously appreciated. Thanks very much for you help ahead of time -Zeb
The simplest and safest way to handle them is to leave the plants exposed to the elements during winter and then cover them with a cloche or hoop house early in the spring. That will give the plants an early start while ensuring that they receive enough chill hours to ensure fruit production. Chill hour requirements vary with the variety and are probably hard to determine for the two invasive species or the native trailing blackberries.
are the wild vine THORNS part of your project - because there are thornless commercial varieties that might fit your requirements.
