Everbearing Blackberry Reuben - Rubus fruticosus

The Reuben Blackberry is a true novelty, the first everbearing variety promising abundant and regular harvests from mid-July to November, starting from the first year. It produces large, flavoursome fruits that are both sweet and tangy. It is a climbing and woody plant with a few thorns, and can be trained like raspberry plants. It thrives in any ordinary soil that is not too dry, in full sun or partial shade.  

The Reuben Blackberry belongs to the Rosaceae family. It is a recent French creation, attributed to the breeder of the famous Mara des Bois strawberry. It is a perennial, climbing plant with branches that can reach 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 feet) in length, and a stump that can occupy 0.5 metres (2 feet) of space on the ground. The foliage is deciduous, bright green, and composed of compound, toothed leaves with visible veins, very similar to raspberry leaves. The stems are slightly thorny, and they only live for fruiting (2 years), being replaced by new shoots emerging from the stump. The flowering, abundant and honey-producing, showcases numerous small white flowers measuring 1.5 cm (1in) in diameter, grouped in clusters. It occurs from May to August-September, starting from the first year of planting. The fruits that form are composed of aggregated drupes attached to the receptacle. They are large in size, much larger than those of wild blackberries, turning from red to black when fully ripe, from mid-July to November. They should be picked when fully black, as they are then sweet, tangy, juicy, and full of flavour. The fruits can be consumed fresh upon picking, frozen, used in tarts, or made into jam.

The Reuben Blackberry is a plant that forms long, flexible stems that are best trained (on a trellis, fence, or lattice). Hardy and easy to grow, it thrives in ordinary soil, preferably fertile, well-drained, and moist. It thrives when sheltered by a sunny or partially shaded wall, showcasing the bare wood of the flexible stems during the winter. Garden blackberries are hybrids derived from the Thornless Blackberry, Rubus var. inermis, which itself was obtained through the cross-breeding of blackberries and raspberries. Extensive improvement and selection work has led to the development of numerous thornless varieties that are particularly productive, most of which have American origins.