Red Elderberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Red Elderberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Sambucus racemosa

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Chester Thornless Blackberry
Red Elderberry

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.

Red Elderberry is an attractive, medium-sized deciduous shrub.

It produces clusters of white flowers in the spring and bright red berry-like drupes, which provide beautiful contrast against its coarse, textured green foliage.

Red Elder can be pruned as a small single or multi-stemmed tree.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Red Elderberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 4 m (13 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: high
Suckering: none


Toxicity: toxic to humans
Flowers: pink
Flowers: white
Berries: heart shaped black
Berries: bright red berries
Firmness: firm
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, PE
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: red elder