Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Falsebox

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Paxistima myrsinites

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

CUSTOM GROW

Chester Thornless Blackberry
Falsebox

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.

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 5a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: high


Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: pink
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Berries: heart shaped black
Firmness: firm
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood