Highbush Cranberry vs Balsors Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Highbush Cranberry vs Balsors Blackberry

Viburnum trilobum

Rubus fruticosus Balsors

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Highbush Cranberry
Balsors Blackberry

Highbush Cranberry produces attractive white flowers in late June and bears edible fruit that matures to a bright red colour in the late summer.

This shrub, native to much of Canada, is fast growing, and its fruit can be eaten raw or cooked into a sauce.

The Balsors Blackberry is a cold-hardy variety that produces very large, sweet and juicy blackberries late in the summer. They are great for baking and fresh eating.

Balsors Blackberry are floricanes, primarily fruiting on second year canes. Each spring cut back all two-year old canes, leaving only the last year’s growth. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn’t require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

Highbush Cranberry Quick Facts

Balsors Blackberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 4a
Height: 4 m (13 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Bark: has thorns
Flowers: white clusters
Berries: edible red berries
Berries: black
Fruit size: large
Firmness: soft
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: August
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no

In row spacing: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Other Names: american cranberrybush, american cranberrybush viburnum, high bush cranberry, kalyna
Other Names: balsors hardy blackberry, illinois blackberry