2025 - What I did today

Attention was directed to the top area. A spindle bush hides some of the composts and it was getting unruly. Spindles are thugs. P set about it with the hedge trimmer. Not far from the spindle is the thug blackberry. Although it's a bit early to prune out the fruited canes, the fruit had either wizened with the heat or moulded with the wet, either way the fruiting canes had to be removed. So that was my job, kitted out in leather gauntlets and secateurs. I got away with just a few drawings of blood. Now my decision is whether to cut out some of the new growth some 15 ft long in some cases or to tip the long lengths in order to give the new thornless plant some room to thrive. I think I'll let thug have 2 or 3 ramblers rather than half a dozen and shorten some of those. I fear the shortened canes will just branch at the tips and be 'umbrellas' causing chaos at the tips. We'll see. Next year if new blackberry thrives, then thug's days will be numbered.