Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Northern Bush Honeysuckle - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Northern Bush Honeysuckle

Diervilla lonicera

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

Northern Bush Honeysuckle
Chester Thornless Blackberry

The Northern Bush Honeysuckle is a small, dense, deciduous shrub. The trumpet-like yellow flowers bloom late spring to early summer. Dark green leaves turn yellow then red in the fall. The flower nectar has a sweet honey taste that can be sucked out of the flower.

Because of its aggressive suckering habit, the Northern Bush Honeysuckle makes a great hedge, shrub border, or thicket in a woodland garden.

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.

Northern Bush Honeysuckle Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

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: shade, partial shade
Light: full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: very fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: high


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


Native to: SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: low bush honeysuckle
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry