Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Festival Raspberry - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Festival Raspberry

Rubus sp. Festival

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

Festival Raspberry
Chester Thornless Blackberry

The Festival Raspberry is a large, bright-red and sweet berry. These firm berries are great for fresh eating and they typically fruit both in the summer and fall.

The Festival Raspberry is a thornless primocane variety, meaning that it produces fruit on first years' growth. Prune stalks each winter or early spring to get higher fruit yields and easier harvesting.

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.

Festival Raspberry Quick Facts

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3b
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 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: medium
Maintenance: high


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


Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry