SUMMER PRUNING 117 



PRUNING 



Pruning the blackberry is a very simple operation, 

 if done at the proper time; but if neglected at the 

 time when it should be done the results can never be 

 satisfactory. The only summer pruning required is 

 to pinch the growing cane once, at from eighteen 

 inches to two feet from the ground. There need be 



Fig. 25. Low training of blackberries. 



no fear of pinching too low, for the cane elongates 

 considerably after being clipped, if still young, and 

 the result is a much better formed bush than if al- 

 lowed to get three or four feet high before being cut. 

 I wish to reiterate the caution to pinch back the canes 

 when they get to the desired height. It makes a vast 

 difference to the future growth of a bush whether the 

 tip is clipped off when it gets two feet high or 

 whether it is allowed to grow to four feet and then 

 cut back to two feet. Fig. 25 shows a model planta- 

 tion of Early Harvest blackberries, pinched back to 



