[swaine]

I've a 3yr old thornless blackberry. Last year it fruited well, and it looks as if this year is going to be even better.

Last Autumn I cut back the old wood and trained 3 new shoots over the trellis. These have now got lots of side branches with flowers and the newly formed berries. If they all fruited I would have a bumper crop.

However some of these side shoots are now literally dropping off. There is rot at the junction of the main shoot and the side shoot. The rest of the bush looks very healthy, but I've now lost about a dozen side shoots, complete with flowers and small berries.

Is this down to the very wet summer we've had? or is it something you sometimes get with thornless blackberries? Anyone got any ideas?

[Trillium]

It's very likely related to the wet cold weather. Although blackberries are quite tough, even they have problems during fruiting times in bad weather. Thornless blackberries are not quite as hardy as thorned varieties and this might add to the problem, though you don't say what variety you have.

Check this for almost everything you want to know about blackberries HERE.

[Goosegirl]

I belleve Trillium is right there - thorned varieties are so much hardier, as I can testify to the canes running through my beech hedge!

[sunshineband]

Funnily enough we have had the same with a couple of our thornless logan berries.

I think it has been down to some slight damage when I was tying in the shoots - over zealousness on my behalf - and then those sections failed to thrive and died back to thr joint.

Could that have been the cause for you maybe?