Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Boreal Bliss Haskap - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Boreal Bliss Haskap

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Lonicera caerulea Boreal Bliss

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Chester Thornless Blackberry
Boreal Bliss Haskap

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.

Boreal Bliss Haskap is a variety recently released by the University of Saskatchewan. Haskaps generally taste like a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry. The flavour of Boreal Bliss is described as excellent, with a nice aroma and unique aftertaste. For peak flavour, wait about a week after the berries turn blue before harvesting. The berries are well suited to fresh eating, freezing, baking, and preserves.

Boreal Bliss is the first Haskap cultivar to be released with wild Canadian lineage. Its productivity is very good, with bloom and ripening times closely matching Boreal Beast.

For optimal fruit production, cross-pollination is required. Haskaps need to be planted with a compatible variety. Compatibility is influenced by both bloom time and genetics.

Boreal Bliss Haskap is a late-pollinating variety and pairs well with Boreal Beast and Boreal Blizzard

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Boreal Bliss Haskap Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright, and somewhat spreading
Spreading: suckering - none
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: medium


Flowers: pink
Flowers: pale yellow
Bloom time: mid May to early June
Berries: heart shaped black
Berries: blue, oblong
Firmness: firm
Flavor: raspberry-blueberry taste
Harvest: July
Harvest: mid July to early August
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: boreal bliss honeyberry