Thimbleberry vs Balsors Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Thimbleberry vs Balsors Blackberry

Rubus fruticosus Balsors

Rubus parviflorus

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Balsors Blackberry
Thimbleberry

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 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 Quick Facts

Thimbleberry Quick Facts

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


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


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