Jumbo Thornless BlackberryRubus ChesterHeight: 6' average mature height Zones: 5-9 Find my zone Aspect: mostly sun to full sun Watering: needs regular irrigation, about once per week during hot weather Maximum Water: tolerates occasional winter flooding but needs drier soil in the summer Habit: spreads quickly by the roots Flowers In: May Foliage: deciduous Growth Rate: fast
Size Availability
Out of season.
quart - $9.97 each crown - $9.99 each
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall.
Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.
Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out. Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Production notes: in production most years but is unavailable in some due to limited seed/division material or finicky propagation Chester is a thornless blackberry variety which produces massive quantities of large, firm fruit late in the season. Chester is a true thornless variety with absolutely no sharp or pokey thorns on either the stems or the leaves. The massive fruit are about five times the size of a standard blackberry and are sweeter as well. The fruit are less fragile than standard blackberries and can be picked and stored without turning into jam like standard blackberries, making this an excellent choice for farmers markets. It is also one of the latest producing of all the thornless blackberries and is a fantastic season extender, with berries ripening over a full two months from late June to early August. Chester is also very heat tolerant and is a regular producer in hot climates.
When growing blackberries give them good soil and plenty of sun for the best production, although they will still produce in partly shaded sites. Chester prefers some afternoon shade in the hottest climates as the developing fruit can be damaged when temperatures get over 110 degrees when in full sun. The plants will form dense clumps with new canes emerging each year from the roots around the plant, growing up to 6 feet tall. The fruit are produced on the second year canes so don't prune the plants to the ground in the winter. The stems are quite strong so they can be grown without support, although to make harvesting easier we prune the new stems in mid-summer when they reach about four feet tall, branches will grow from just below the cut which will cause most of the berry production to be between four and five feet high the following year.
The large fruit on Chester Thornless Blackberry
Rubus Chester - Thornless Blackberry
Rubus Chester - Jumbo Thornless Blackberry
Packing Plants For ShippingWe pack our plants depending on the needs of each species and size, most plants ship best with the roots packed in moist sawdust or bark fines but some species don't like root disturbance and are shipped in a soil-less growing media. Excess soil is washed from the roots in preparation for shipping (18-24" White Pines)  Plants are bundled together to fit in boxes  Bundles of plants are secured in long boxes. Plant Sizes 3 gallon Dawn Redwood  Standard quart shrub  Standard 14-18" multi-stem tree size  Standard deep plug pine tree Bamboo Plants Are Shipped In Their ContainersBamboo roots are not flexible and so plants have to be shipped in their containers. These plants are heavier and are shipped separately from bare root plants. Because they are potted they can handle longer transit times so can ship via UPS Ground instead of USPS Air Mail. Potted plants can also be shipped year-round.We regularly top our 1 gallon bamboo plants at 24-30 inches tall throughout the growing season. This results in dense, bushy foliage while allowing for economical shipping. From this size most running species will grow to 5-6 feet tall in the first spring and clumping species will usually grow to 4-5 feet tall.  1 gallon bamboo plants strapped in and ready to be sealed. Unpacking Bare Root PlantsYou will be sent tracking details as soon as your plants are shipped. Unpack your plants as quickly as possible after they are delivered. We use two types of boxes, side-sealing and top-sealing. For boxes that are taped along the whole length you can cut the tape on either side and remove the plant bundles by cutting the tape holding the bundle to the bottom. For boxes that are sealed on the top and bottom, it is easiet to open the bottom of the box (the shipping label is at the top) and pull the bundle of plants out straight out. Check that the box is empty as there can be a second bundle of plants stuck towards the top. A bundle of trees. What if I am not able to plant right away?You can usually leave the plants in their shipping container unopened for 1-2 days if there were no shipping delays and you have received your plants from late November through February. Plants shipped when it is warmer can't stay in their packages for as long.For longer term storage of plants you can pot them up or plant them in rows close together temporarily and then pull them out later in the spring to be planted again. This keeps the roots moist while allowing for air flow to the tops. The roots should have good contact with the soil to ensure they have access to adequate moisture. |
Size Availability
Out of season.
quart - $9.97 each crown - $9.99 each
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall.
Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.
Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out. Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Production notes: in production most years but is unavailable in some due to limited seed/division material or finicky propagation
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Red Panda Nursery