How to Transplant a Dewberry

Put on gloves to protect your hands from the dewberry thorns. Prune back the selected dewberry cane to 12 inches with a pair of pruning shears. This gives a handle to manipulate the dewberry plant with and allows the roots to recover without having to support a massive top portion.

Remove the weeds and large rocks from the planting site. Dig the soil up to the depth of 36 inches with a shovel. Break the dirt clumps up and spread a 6-inch layer of sand over the area to improve the drainage. Mix the sand into the soil. Rake the soil smooth.

Dig up the dewberry canes that are to be transplanted. Dig down to the depth of 18 inches on all sides of the cane and carefully work the shovel under the roots. Reach around the root ball with your hands and pull it out of the ground. Shake some of the excess soil from the root ball, but leave the soil right next to the roots.

Dig a hole in the prepared area as large as the root ball and scrape the sides of the hole with the edge of the shovel to prevent compact soil. Place the root ball in the hole and fill in with soil around the sides of the hole. Make sure that the cane is in the ground at the same depth as it was previously growing at.

Transplant the rest of the canes spacing them 36 inches apart in rows eight feet apart. This gives room for weeding and picking the dewberries. Water the soil around the base of the plants until the ground is soaked.