Thiessen Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Chester Thornless Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Thiessen Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Chester Thornless Blackberry

Amelanchier alnifolia Thiessen

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Thiessen Saskatoon (Serviceberry)
Chester Thornless Blackberry

Thiessen Saskatoon is a deciduous shrub that produces delicious edible fruit. It is one of the most productive saskatoon varieties. Its fruit is great in pies, preserves or eating fresh.

Thiessen Saskatoon is popular with U-Picks and home owners because of its taller tree-like shape and larger berries. But it is not the best choice for berry orchards as it is too tall for most mechanical harvesting equipment.

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.

Thiessen Saskatoon (Serviceberry) Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 3b
Height: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high


Flowers: pink
Berries: blue
Berries: heart shaped black
Firmness: firm
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: alder-leaf shadbush, dwarf shadbush, pacific serviceberry, pigeon berry, western juneberry, western serviceberry
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry