The removal of blackberries is usually only a problem with wild blackberry varieties. Since modern cultivated varieties of blackberries are not as prolific as their wild relatives, simply digging up the rootstock is usually enough to remove them.
How can blackberries be removed successfully?
To effectively remove blackberries, you should regularly trim the vines, dig up the roots and dispose of removed shoots. Alternatively, you can place pond liner over the affected area and cover with gravel or bark mulch to dry out the blackberries.
Fighting blackberries on slopes and between bushes
On straight open spaces in the garden, the problem of excessive blackberry growth hardly occurs. Since the blackberry tendrils are cut off near the ground during regular mowing with a lawnmower, this leads to medium-term extinction in mown meadows by preventing the blackberry plants from absorbing any significant energy. It's not that easy with slopes and shrub-covered areas in a garden. Blackberry vines are often either brought in with soil or grow from a nearby edge of the forest into the property. Here you need a special brush cutter for mechanical destruction (€108.00 on Amazon).
Permanent removal requires patience and effort
Once wild blackberries have really taken root on a property, removing them is not an easy or quick matter. Since the blackberries keep sprouting even after the tendrils have been removed from the root network in the ground, even chemical plant killers only have a limited effect on blackberries. As a first step, the blackberry tendrils should be pulled out and cut regularly to remove substance from the plant during photosynthesis. However, the removed tendrils must under no circumstances be composted in another garden location, as blackberries can not only be propagated via cuttings, but also form new blackberry roots on sinkers. Otherwise, the removed shoots could take root in a shady place.
Take action against the blackberries with tools and hard work
To combat wild blackberries you first need the following equipment:
- protective clothing against thorn injuries
- Gloves
- Pickaxe
- sharp ground spade
- maybe. Shredder to get rid of the removed tendrils
Follow each blackberry vine at its location to the ground and loosen the soil here before tearing out the blackberry roots as deeply as possible with as strong a tug as possible. If a vegetable or flower bed is to be planted in the same place later, this deep digging will not only permanently combat the wild blackberries, but will also create a loose and deep substrate for the new planting.
Alternative methods for eradicating blackberries
If the physical effort of digging up the blackberry roots seems too laborious, with a little patience you can also use alternative ways to destroy the thorny tendrils. Obtain a continuous piece of pond liner the size of the location in question and place it on the ground where you initially cut off the vines near the ground. Then cover the film with gravel or bark mulch as desired until the blackberry roots have died off after about one to two years.
Tips & Tricks
Wild blackberries also grow in partial shade, but they need a certain amount of sunlight. With dense bushes and trees, you can deprive blackberries of their livelihood in the long term due to the associated shading.
