Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Bilberry

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

CUSTOM GROW

Chester Thornless Blackberry
Bilberry

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.

Bilberry is a native perennial shrub valued for its small, blue-black berries that ripen in mid to late summer. The berries resemble blueberries but have a richer, more tart, and intense flavor. They have long been used for fresh eating, baking, and preserves, while also providing food for birds and mammals. In spring, its delicate pinkish flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

Growing low to the ground, Bilberry forms spreading colonies that create dense understory cover. This growth habit provides food and shelter for wildlife, and its foliage adds seasonal interest by turning red to purple in autumn. With its adaptability and ecological benefits, Bilberry is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and pollinator gardens.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 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
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: high


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Flowers: pink
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: heart shaped black
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Firmness: firm
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: July
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry