Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Mountain Huckleberry - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Mountain Huckleberry

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Vaccinium membranaceum

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Chester Thornless Blackberry
Mountain Huckleberry

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.

Mountain Huckleberry is a small shrub known for its tart to sweet berries. The berries range from purple-black to red-black, and can be eaten fresh or used in jams and syrups. It is a plant native to Alberta and the berries are frequently enjoyed by both people and wildlife.

In traditional Indigenous fire management practices, berry patches were burned after harvest. This would reduce the invasion of other plants allowing the Mountain Huckleberry to thrive. Its foliage has low flammability and can survive low severity fires, and even if destroyed they regrow from the roots.

Note: Mountain Huckleberry requires specific soil conditions. They need moist, well-drained, acidic soil with a pH around 5.5.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Mountain Huckleberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 5a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: any
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: high


Flowers: pink
Berries: heart shaped black
Berries: dark purple
Firmness: firm
Flavor: sweet, acidic
Harvest: July
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, ON, YT, NT
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: big huckleberry, black huckleberry, tall bilberry, thinleaf huckleberry