Red Elderberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Red Elderberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry

Sambucus racemosa

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Red Elderberry
Chester Thornless Blackberry

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 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 Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3b
Height: 4 m (13 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: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high

Toxicity: toxic to humans

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


Other Names: red elder
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry