Thornless Blackberry Triple Crown Bio - Rubus fruticosus

The Triple Crown Blackberry from Organic Agriculture is a variety of thornless garden blackberry, vigorous and highly productive, capable of producing up to 25 kg of fruits, with a shiny black colour. Its fruits are enormous, weighing up to 8 g, and have a fragrant and sweet flavor with that delicious aroma of wild blackberries. They are delicious fresh, in fruit salads, jams, and jellies. The harvest takes place once the fruits are ripe, from early August to October. The Triple Crown Blackberry Organic is a variety naturally resistant to diseases and cold temperatures up to -10°C.

The Blackberry belongs to the genus Rubus which is native to 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 has many subspecies that differ in size, colour, and acidity of the fruit. 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 Organic is content with ordinary soil, although it prefers fertile, well-drained, and fresh soil. Sheltered by a wall in a sunny or partially shaded position, it will thrive and showcase the bare wood of its flexible branches in winter. Garden blackberries are hybrids derived from the Thornless Blackberry, Rubus var. inermis, itself obtained by crossing the blackberry and the raspberry. Extensive work on improvement and selection has led to the development of numerous thornless and highly productive varieties, most of which are of American origin.
The Triple Crown Blackberry is a perennial climbing 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 of the ground. These branches need to be trained: fence, wire mesh, trellis, pergola, arches, there are many solutions.
The foliage is deciduous, falling in autumn. It is bright green in colour, composed of compound, toothed 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 growing from the stump.
The abundant and nectar-rich flowering displays numerous small white-pink flowers measuring 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 fruits that form are composed of drupes clustered on the receptacle, adhering. They are large in size, much larger than those of wild blackberries, turning red and then black at ripeness, from the month of 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 from picking, in jellies, jams, on tarts, or even in sorbets, syrups, and juices. They can be perfectly preserved in the freezer.