Potted Blackberry - Thornless Chester

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Chester is a thornless, semi-erect blackberry with firm dark fruit that ripens late in the blackberry season. Its fruit can be used fresh when fully ripe or for freezing, baking, jams, sauces, and preserves.

• Plant form: One potted Chester blackberry plant
• Growth habit: Thornless, vigorous, semi-erect floricane type
• USDA zones: 5–9
• Chill requirement: Approximately 300–500 hours
• Pollination: Self-fruitful; flowers still depend on pollinator activity for good fruit development
• Sun: Full sun
• Spacing: About 5 feet between plants
• Harvest: Typically late summer; an early frost may shorten harvest in cold regions

Training and care

Plant in fertile, well-drained soil and keep the root zone evenly moist. Support the long, arching canes on a sturdy trellis. Tip primocanes in summer to encourage branching, shorten laterals during dormant pruning, and remove spent floricanes after harvest.

This item ships in a nursery pot. Semi-erect Chester is vigorous at maturity and is better suited to an in-ground bed or roomy raised bed than a small permanent container.

Explore cane berries

Browse all berry plants and review the Blackberry Growing Guide.