Thornless Blackberry Triple Crown - Rubus fruticosus

The Triple Crown Blackberry is a thornless variety of garden blackberry. Vigorous and highly productive, it produces up to 5 kg of fruit, shiny black in color. Its fruits are enormous, weighing up to 8g. They are also fragrant and sweet with that delicious aroma of wild blackberries. They are ideal fresh, in fruit salads, jams, and jellies. Harvest takes place once the fruits are ripe, from early August until October. The Triple Crown Blackberry is resistant to diseases and can withstand temperatures as low as -10°C (14°F).

The Blackberry belongs to the genus Rubus, which originates from the mountains of the Caucasus in Asia Minor. The genus has diversified over time and has given rise to several subgenera, including the raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and the common blackberry (Rubus fruticosus). This latter genus includes numerous subspecies, which differ in terms of fruit size, colour, and acidity level. In Europe and America, this berry has been consumed for about 2000 years. The Triple Crown Blackberry, of American origin, belongs to the subgenus Rubus fruticosus and is part of cultivated blackberries.

Hardy and easy to grow, the Triple Crown Blackberry thrives in ordinary soil, although it prefers fertile, well-drained, and fresh soil. It will thrive against a sunny or semi-shaded wall, showcasing the bare wood of its flexible branches in winter. Garden blackberries are hybrids derived from the thornless common blackberry, Rubus var. inermis, itself obtained through cross-breeding with the raspberry. Extensive work on improvement and selection has resulted in numerous thornless varieties, most of which are of American origin.
The Triple Crown Blackberry is a climbing perennial plant with a semi-shrubby and bushy habit. The branches can reach a length of 2 to 3 m (7 to 10ft), and the stump can occupy 0.5 m (2ft) of the ground. These branches will need support, such as a fence, wire mesh, trellis, pergola, or arches, there are numerous solutions.
The foliage is deciduous, bright green, composed of compound and dentate leaves with visible veins, very similar to raspberry leaves. The stems are thornless. They only live to bear fruit (2 years) and are gradually replaced by suckers sprouting from the stump.
The abundant and nectar-rich flowering produces numerous small white-pink flowers, 1.5 to 2 cm (1in) in diameter, grouped in clusters. It occurs from May to June, starting from the first year of planting.

The formed fruits consist of clustered drupes attached to the receptacle. They are large in size, much larger than those of wild blackberries, turning red and then black when ripe, from August to October. They should be picked when fully black, as they are then sweet and tangy, juicy and flavorful. The fruits can be consumed fresh upon picking, in jellies, jams, on pies, or even in sorbets, syrups, and juices. They can be perfectly preserved in the freezer.