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.

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 is a 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