My trailing blackberry bushes are growing strongly now. The canes do not grow up, but to the side, just a little above the ground. So I guess this is why they are called “trailing”?
My trellis is not up yet. So I’ll need to figure out some ways to tie the canes and get them far away off the ground.
Also, I do not think there is any need to prune or top the canes. The canes are still short, about 2’ tall.
Trailing Dewberries used to be tied to a stake in my state before trellis became popular. That may be a temporary solution
Its OK to just let them grow on the ground, and put them up on the trellis next spring. In fact one training method is the new growth is on the ground and the 2nd year fruiting portion is put on the trellis. You don’t top trailing types, the canes are thinner but much longer than the erect kinds.
Great. I’ll just keep them growing. I’ll stake them if they grow to very long, like 5’ or so. So far, they are still above ground.
They could get a lot longer than 5’. I’ve had trailing boysenberries grow 15+’ and tip root in an area I wasn’t expecting them.
I remember Fruitnut’s warning some years ago that if you tip them it gets more difficult to manage due to the shorter canes with more branching. This year I’ve treated them like he did, by winding them up like a wreath.
Newberry, one that I thought was trailing last year, may not be entirely. Some of the new growth is going up quite a bit for me. I’ve tied last year’s (long and horizontal) growth to a post.