A patch of brambles in the countryside is ideal for wildlife. Its flowers attract a variety of pollinating insects. The blackberries provide sweet food for another selection of flies, bees and smaller insects. The bramble patch is a nest site for linnets and whitethroats in the open countryside. A patch of brambles on the edge of a woodland also provides a wonderful habitat and perhaps a nest site for a pair of blackcaps.

But in a planted woodland brambles have fewer friends. Under shade a bramble will produce much fewer flowers and blackberries. Its energies are diverted into reaching for the available light. If it can get a hold of the lower branches of a young tree, it can use its thorns as grappling irons to weave its way up into the crown. Once there it competes with the trees for the available sunlight, then it sends slender thorny shoots back to the ground where they root and start another plant.

There are 3 main types of bramble that occur in woodland. All of them arrive naturally in bird droppings.

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The dewberry, Rubus caesius, is not a problem at all. Its slender stems trail across the ground. It has delicate prickles that feel more like Velcro than thorns as long as you are wearing long trousers. It can quickly spread over the ground in clear felled woodland but, as long as you can restock, or get natural regeneration, quickly; young trees will grow away vertically through the horizontal dewberry stems. The dewberry protects the young trees from deer grazing. French foresters call it, “le berceau de la foret”, the cradle of the forest.

The common blackberry, Rubus fruticosus, is much more robust. In old woodlands it often dominates the field layer, making access difficult. More importantly, the dense year round shade of bramble close to the ground blocks out the light, to the detriment of the spring woodland flora and germinating tree seedlings alike.

In young woodlands, before canopy closure, blackberries can grow into the tree canopy and turn whole sections of the woodland into no-go areas. The only solution is to cut through the bramble stems at ground level and prune all side branches of trees up to 2 metres. As the tree canopy develops, the brambles will regrow weakly in the increasing shade and will be unable to use the lower branches as hand holds.

The Armenian blackberry, Rubus armeniacus, is not a native to the UK but was introduced and cultivated because of its large juicy fruits. It soon escaped and is now widespread. Several people have commented to me that blackberries are 2 weeks earlier this year and that they are particularly big and juicy – these are Armenian blackberries! They have extremely strong, thick shoots which grow high into the crowns of young trees. Control is the same as for common blackberries but wear thick gloves and be prepared to dig out the roots if you cannot get the shade to control them.

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