Balsors Blackberry vs Flowering Raspberry - TreeTime.ca

Balsors Blackberry vs Flowering Raspberry

Rubus fruticosus Balsors

Rubus odoratus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Balsors Blackberry
Flowering Raspberry

Balsors Blackberry is a cold-hardy variety that produces very large, sweet and juicy blackberries late in the summer. They are great for baking and fresh eating.

Balsors Blackberry is a floricanes, primarily fruiting on second year canes. Each spring cut back all two-year old canes, leaving only the last year’s growth. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn’t require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

Balsors Blackberry Quick Facts

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium
Maintenance: high


Bark: has thorns
Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: purple
Berries: black
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Fruit size: large
Firmness: soft
Firmness: firm
Flavor: sweet
Flavor: tasteless
Harvest: August
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS
Other Names: balsors hardy blackberry, illinois blackberry
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry