Red River Raspberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry - TreeTime.ca

Red River Raspberry vs Chester Thornless Blackberry

Rubus x Red River

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

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Red River Raspberry
Chester Thornless Blackberry

Red River Raspberry is a cold hardy and adaptable raspberry. Its berries are smaller than typical raspberries and ripen from August until frost. The berries are firm, ruby red and excellent for eating right from the bush.

Red River Raspberry is a primocane-fruiting variety, meaning it produces fruit on first-year canes (the current season’s growth). They are also referred to as ever-bearing or fall-bearing. Cut stalks down each winter or early spring to get higher fruit yields.

Raspberries are self-fertile, meaning they do not require cross-pollination from another variety to produce fruit.

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 River Raspberry Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

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Zone: 3a
Zone: 3b
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: high


Flowers: pink
Berries: heart shaped black
Firmness: firm
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry