Taste of Heaven™ Blackberry (Rubus)
Shrub
- Thornless blackberry with sweet, flavorful fruit!
- Tastes delicious in desserts, canned or eaten fresh.
- Can be grown without a trellis, though recommended.
- Perfect specimen plant or addition to any edible garden.
- Zones 5B-8, sun, up to 3-5′ tall x 3-5′ wide at maturity.
UNABLE TO SHIP TO: CANADA
ZONE
EXPOSURE
HEIGHT
Description
Blackberry plants bear the sweetest, most abundant fruit when planted in rich, well-drained, acidic soil. While a trellis or fence is not strictly required, it is easier to care for and harvest with some structure to support the canes. Taste of Heaven blackberry is a floricane type, which means it fruits only on second-year canes, something that is essential to consider when it comes to pruning your plant. Harvest when the fruit reaches a deep black/purple flower for the sweetest flavor!
Details
Patent: USPP 33,330
Common name: Blackberry, thornless blackberry
Zone: 5b - 8
Sun exposure: Full sun (6+ hours sun)
Height x width: 3-5' tall and 2’-3’ wide
Flower color: White
Foliage color: Green
Season of interest: Summer
Bloom time: Summer
Features: Heat tolerant, fall color, edible garden
Uses: Edible garden, hedge, specimen
How to Grow
Light: Full sun (> 6 hours sun)
Water: Average water needs, water during droughts or dry periods. Do not allow to dry out during flower or fruit development.
Spacing: Minimum 3 feet apart
Fertilizing: Apply a balanced fertilizer in late winter or early spring, then again in mid-summer for best production.
Winterizing: Apply a thick layer of mulch around the base of the plants for insulation. Do not prune before winter.
Maintenance & pruning: Pruning your blackberry is a crucial part of keeping it healthy and productive, and it’s very simple once you understand the unique lifecycle of a floricane blackberry like Taste of Heaven. In year one, canes emerge from the crown of the plant and grow tall and leafy; these are known as primocanes. In year two, those same canes are now called floricanes, which flower, fruit, then die. On an established plant, there will always be a mix of primocanes and floricanes so you will get fruit every year. Plants should be pruned three times each year: mid-late summer, to remove all of the canes that just bore fruit; late winter/early spring, to shorten the horizontal branches on this year’s floricanes, and late spring/early summer, to shorten the new growth that just emerged and encourage more lateral branching for a bigger, better crop the following season.
Plant spacing is based on the ultimate width of the plants. This figure is normally given as a range; for example, 3-5’. If you live in a cold climate and/or want plants to fill in more quickly, plan to space at the shorter end of the range. If you live in a warm climate, are on a limited budget, or are willing to wait longer for plants to touch, use the higher end of the range. Using the larger number is recommended when calculating distance from a building or structure. There’s really no such thing as "maximum spacing": if you don’t want your plants to touch, you can space them as far apart as you’d like. All plant spacing is calculated on center, or in other words, the centers of the plants are spaced one half of their eventual width apart:
Unless you are planting in a straight line, as you might for hedges or edging, space your plants in a staggered or zig-zag pattern for a more interesting and naturalistic look:
Not sure just how many plants will fit in your garden? Our calculator gives you the exact amount of plants required for your space. Simply update the values and the calculator will re-calculate accordingly. Spacing information can be found in the 'How to Grow' tab on each plant's page.