Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Cornelian Cherry Dogwood - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Cornelian Cherry Dogwood

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Cornus mas

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Chester Thornless Blackberry
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood

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.

Cornelian Cherry Dogwood is an ornamental plant with a variety of uses as it can be grown as a shrub, small tree, hedge, or privacy screen. The bright yellow flowers grow in clusters and bloom in late winter to early spring, providing an early food source for pollinators. They are visually striking as the flowers bloom before the leaves appear and last for several weeks.

Red, cherry-like fruits are produced in midsummer. They are edible but are better suited for preserves and syrups as the taste is fairly sour and astringent, similar to that of sour cherries and cranberries.

The Cornelian Cherry Dogwood was the winner of the Gold Medal Award from The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society as well as the Cary Award for having superior landscape appeal and for being winter hardy and pest resistant.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Cornelian Cherry Dogwood Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 4a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 6 m (20 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: high
Suckering: medium


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


Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: cornelia cherry, cornelia cherry dogwood, cornelian cherry, cornelian cherry dogwood, european cornel