Common Snowberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Common Snowberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry

Symphoricarpos albus

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Common Snowberry
Chester Thornless Blackberry

Common Snowberry is a small deciduous shrub with characteristic white to pink flowers and clusters of white fruit.

This North American native species is very adaptable, and can be used for erosion control in riparian and restoration areas. Snowberry's fruit attracts wildlife, and livestock can consume the berries without issue.

Chester Thornless Blackberry is a self-pollinating fruit-bearing shrub. In mid-summer, the Chester Thornless Blackberry produces large, sweet-tasting, heart-shaped blackberries that are perfect for fresh eating. It is a semi-erect blackberry plant that requires little support from a trellis to keep its fruit off the ground. Don't forget to protect your berries. The birds love this shrub almost as much as you will.

Chester Thornless Blackberries are floricanes, primarily fruiting on second year canes. Each spring cut back all two-year old canes, leaving only the last year’s growth.

Common Snowberry Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 3b
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high

Toxicity: berries toxic to humans

Bark: red-brown shredded bark
Flowers: pink to white flowers in spring
Flowers: pink
Berries: white waxy berries
Berries: heart shaped black
Firmness: firm
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: common snowberry
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry