Heavy branch pruning is necessary, as flower buds arise on one year old branches. Three year old plants will yield 1 to 3 kilograms of caper flower buds per plant. Grown from seed, in California caperbushes reportedly begin to flower in the fourth year, however Italian sources report some flowering from first year transplants. Caper plantings will last 20 to 30 years. The unopened flower buds should be picked on a dry days.
Harvesting is carried out regularly throughout the growing season.
In Southern Italy, caper flower buds are collected by hand about every 8 to 12 days, resulting in 9 -12 harvest times per season. Processing Capers are preserved either in vinegar or under layers of salt in a jar. Raw capers are bland flavored and need to be cured to develop their piquant flavor. In Italy, capers are graded on a scale from '7' to '16', which indicates their size in millimeters. Mechanized screens are used to sort the various sized capers after being hand-picked from the hillsides.