Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Grouseberry - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Grouseberry

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Vaccinium scoparium

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Chester Thornless Blackberry
Grouseberry

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.

Grouseberry is a native, low-growing deciduous shrub known for its edible red berries. In early summer, it produces small, urn-shaped flowers ranging from white to pink that attract bees and other pollinators. The berries provide an important food source for many types of wildlife, including game birds such as grouse, which gives the plant its common name. People can also enjoy the berries fresh or in baked goods, though they can be difficult to harvest in large quantities.

Spreading by rhizomes, Grouseberry forms dense, broom-like mats that help stabilize soil and prevent erosion, while also providing cover for ground-nesting wildlife. It is commonly found beneath conifers in open forests, subalpine meadows, and occasionally on rocky slopes in mountainous regions. It is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and soil stabilization projects.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Grouseberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: reddish
Flowers: pink
Flowers: small pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: spring
Berries: heart shaped black
Berries: small, bright red, edible
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tart
Harvest: July
Harvest: summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: dwarf red whortleberry, grouse whortleberry, little-leaved huckleberry, red alpine blueberry, small-leaved huckleberry