Thimbleberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Thimbleberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry

Rubus parviflorus

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

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Thimbleberry
Chester Thornless Blackberry

Thimbleberry is an ornamental shrub with large, green maple-like-leaves. Flowers are attractive, fragrant, and turn into red-raspberry-like berries. The berries are good for jams, cakes, breads, muffins etc. If you remove the berry, the core resembles a thimble, giving this shrub its namesake.

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.

Thimbleberry Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3b
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high


Foliage: Soft leaves up to 8 inches across
Fall colour: gold
Flowers: white, showy
Flowers: pink
Berries: edible, red, similar to raspberries
Berries: heart shaped black
Firmness: firm
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, ON
Other Names: thimbleberry, western thimbleberry
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry