Thimbleberry vs Balsors Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Thimbleberry vs Balsors Blackberry

Rubus parviflorus

Rubus fruticosus Balsors

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Thimbleberry
Balsors 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.

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.

Thimbleberry Quick Facts

Balsors Blackberry Quick Facts

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


Foliage: Soft leaves up to 8 inches across
Fall colour: gold
Bark: has thorns
Flowers: white, showy
Berries: edible, red, similar to raspberries
Berries: black
Fruit size: large
Firmness: soft
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: August
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


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