- Blackberry species: a brief overview
- Wild Blackberries
- Blackberry Varieties: Thornless, Evergreen & Upright Blackberries
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Blackberries can be very diverse and different. It is therefore worth taking a closer look at the different blackberry varieties.
Closely related to raspberries (Rubus idaeus), blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) are native to Eurasia and North America. For a long time they were only collected in the wild before they became increasingly important as cultivated fruits from the mid-19th century. Ever since the first thornless varieties were imported from the USA in the 1950s, blackberries no longer just lead a shadowy existence as hedge and embankment plants in Europe, but are also often cultivated in gardens.
Blackberry species: a brief overview
The blackberry, which belongs to the Rosaceae family, includes many different species. These differ with regard to a wide variety of plant parts, for example, they have a variety of characteristics in the leaves or spines. This diversity of species is due to the fact that blackberries have widespread origins. For example, some species come from Eurasia, others from North America. In breeding, many different varieties, some of which belong to different species, were and are often crossed, which ultimately makes it difficult to keep track of the great diversity of species. With many blackberry varieties that can be purchased in the plant trade, it is not so easy to find out which species they belong to. The good thing is: Unlike botanists, the affiliation of a variety to its species has little meaning for hobby gardeners. For this reason, the different species should no longer be the focus here, the following lines are rather limited to the variety names, as you will also find them when purchasing a blackberry plant in the trade.
Wild Blackberries
Due to the enormous variety of origins and species from which the different blackberry plants originate, there are a lot of different wild blackberries in our nature. Just pay attention to the shape of the leaves and any other characteristics that you notice about the next blackberries that you discover along the way. If you do this in multiple locations, you willquickly notice that there are big differences between the individual plants. Incidentally, if a blackberry that grows in the wild tastes particularly good to you, you can cut off a shoot from this plant, nurture this cutting at home and then plant it in your garden.
Note, however, that wild blackberries are usually heavily thorny and sometimes spread very quickly over large areas. On the other hand, wild blackberries are usually very adaptable and have few requirements. Wild blackberries, which can be purchased in the garden trade, do not belong to a specific variety like other plants. It is a cutting of some wild plant.
Blackberry Varieties: Thornless, Evergreen & Upright Blackberries
Now we would like to describe some of the most popular and best as well as some of the blackberry varieties that we think are a bit too highly praised. We'll start with the prickly varieties. Incidentally, within each category, the varieties are sorted by maturity, starting with the early ripe ones.
'Silvan': very early maturing, slow-growing variety; very large, very tasty berries; high frost resistance, but very susceptible to tendril disease.
'Choctaw': medium-yielding, upright plant with relatively short tendrils; very large fruits with good taste; sensitive to frost.
'Wilson's Early': from the end of July; medium strong, upright growing with few prickly tails; small to medium-sized, sweet berries with many seeds; Lack of water during fruit ripening can result in small fruits.
'Theodor Reimers' (also called 'Himalaya'): ripening from the end of July until autumn; very productive, well-established variety; prickly, very long, frost-sensitive tendrils; undemanding to the soil; very sweet, aromatic and juicy, but slightly smaller berries.
Thornless/Thornless Brambles
From a botanical point of view, blackberries do not have thorns, as is often assumed, but prickles. But no matter what you call them, blackberries' prickly defenses are well known and can be quite annoying. That is why the thornless blackberry varieties are becoming increasingly popular. Here are a few:
'Waldo': high-yielding, very early-ripening variety with a long harvest period; large, very tasty fruits with very small seeds; medium strong, compact growth; can therefore be planted somewhat closer togetherbecome.
'Loch Tay': is related to 'Loch Ness', but ripens earlier and only for a short time; upright tendrils; Berries are slightly smaller and taste good; therefore, in our opinion, better suited for commercial fruit growing than for the home garden.
'Loch Ness' or 'Nessy': ripens from early/mid-July to late August; medium strong, semi-erect growing tails; very large, firm berries; aromatic-sweet taste; very prolific; Susceptible to downy mildew and bramble.
'Jumbo': very productive, fast-growing variety; very large, soft fruits, which do not taste particularly good.
'Asterina': robust plant with very large, firm fruits and a very sweet taste; medium vigorous growth.
'Navaho': ripens from late July/early August to late September; large, shiny fruits with a very good, aromatic taste; very strongly upright growing, long tails; hardy variety; also beautiful pink flowers, therefore high ornamental value.
'Black Satin': from early August to mid-October; medium to strong upright growth; very prolific; shiny black fruits with a typical aroma and moderate taste; somewhat susceptible to frost and disease.
'Chester Thornless': very fast-growing, climbing variety with large, tasty berries; late ripening and bearing until the first frost; high ornamental value due to beautiful flowers.
'Thornless Evergreen': medium-sized, firm fruits with a sweet-sour and aromatic taste; resistant to rod diseases; slightly frost sensitive and susceptible to blackberry rust.
'Thornfree': fast-growing; slightly sour, aromatic berries; taste not overwhelming; large, very juicy fruits; susceptible to vine disease.
Evergreen Blackberries
Most blackberry varieties shed their leaves in late autumn or early winter, depending on weather conditions. Some varieties such as 'Theodor Reimers' or 'Thornless Evergreen' are often, as the latter name suggests, referred to as "evergreen". This is not entirely correct, since evergreen plants gradually change their foliage unnoticed. Rather, these blackberry varieties are winter green, they only shed their leaves in spring. At this time of year, new leaves are already being formed. Except for a brief transitional period during which the plant bears both brown, dead leaves and new, green leaves, these blackberry varieties are soactually "evergreen".
Upright Blackberries
In addition to the climbing blackberry varieties, there are also upright ones. While the climbing varieties prefer to grow over a wall, fence or scaffolding, the upright varieties can do without climbing aids. 'Choctaw', 'Wilson's Early', 'Loch Tay', 'Navaho' and 'Black Satin' are among these upright growing varieties, which incidentally are pruned in the same way as climbing blackberries.
New Blackberry Varieties
In plant breeding, plants are constantly being crossed with others in hopes of developing a new, better variety. Even among the varieties already described, there are some that have not been around for long and that compete with the older ones through better taste or higher resistance to diseases. In this section we want to introduce you to the strangest new breeds.
'Baby Cakes': special breed of Brazelberry; Blackberry plants resemble a small blueberry bush that can be cultivated in a pot; optically certainly more appealing than other blackberries, but it can hardly keep up in terms of yield.
'Cascade' / 'Black Cascade': bushy, slow-growing variety that can be cultivated as a traffic light, but also in beds if overhanging shoots are supported; medium-sized, sweet fruits; Tails are spined on young plants, after pruning the spines decrease.
'Reuben': bears the same as autumn raspberries on the one-year-old shoots; Harvest time is therefore very late compared to other varieties (from around the beginning of September); after harvest, all canes can be removed close to the ground; medium to strongly upright growing, prickly rods; sweetish aromatic fruits; can even carry one more time in summer on annual rods if not clipped.
Blackberry Varieties: Black or Red Fruit
All blackberry varieties already described traditionally bear black fruits. By crossing blackberries with raspberries, varieties with red fruits have also been bred. However, the decision as to whether to classify these as blackberries or raspberries or whether a new name should actually be found is not in our hands. We havemade smart for you about the currently most well-known, so-called red-fruited blackberry:
'Dorman Red': crossing of a special Rubus species with the raspberry variety 'Dorsett'; Fruits are red, resemble raspberries and grow in the same way as summer raspberries on biennial wood (so the plant is cut like a summer raspberry); Growth is reminiscent of a blackberry plant.
Dorman Red tip: We only recommend this self-fertile plant to gardeners who already have experience with raspberries and blackberries. Because the requirements of this plant do not correspond one hundred percent to what is generally recommended for raspberries or the recommendations for blackberries. We therefore advise gardeners who still need a lot of information on how to care for their plants to choose a classic raspberry or blackberry variety.
We have compiled our favorite berry varieties for the garden (with raspberries, strawberries, currants & co.) in a special article here.