Rubus tridel Benenden

Rubus tridel 'Benenden' is a charming ornamental bush to be adopted in a natural garden or in a country hedge in the company of wild roses, white spireas or guelder roses for example. Unlike the wild blackberry, this one has a well-behaved bushy habit, does not produce fruits and develops thorn-free stems. Gracefully drooping, its stems bear in late spring or early summer large slightly fragrant white flowers distributed along their entire length. Its pretty deciduous foliage is composed of wavy, dissected and toothed leaves, of a beautiful dark green. Hardy and not very demanding in terms of soil, requiring very little maintenance, this plant is within reach of all gardeners, even beginners. 

The 'Benenden' Bramble, discovered in 1950 in England, belongs to the rose family. It is a spontaneous and sterile hybrid between the Rubus deliciosus, native to the central United States and the Rubus trilobus, native to Guatemala as well as the centre and south of Mexico. The Royal Horticultural Society has awarded this lovely bramble an Award of Garden Merit for its ornamental qualities and its performance in the garden. The plant closely resembles its first American parent, but it has no thorns and offers much larger and more regular wild rose flowers, reaching 5 to 7cm (2 - 2.8in) in diameter. It is still little known here, despite its adaptability to many growing conditions. One plant will form a large bush that will occupy a space of 2.5m (8ft) in all directions. The upright and then drooping thornless stems tend to exfoliate with age. They bear deciduous leaves of variable shape, more or less lobed and toothed. The lamina has a wavy appearance and sports a beautiful deep green colour that enhances the large sparkling white flowers with yellow stamens. Flowering takes place in May-June, on the previous year's branches. A pruning done just after the first flowering will encourage a second bloom in late summer.

Plant the 'Benenden' Ornamental Bramble preferably in partial shade, in ordinary but deep soil. Under these conditions, the bush will settle very easily and in a few years will become a very ornamental plant in a country setting or a natural garden. In an informal hedge or in a large shrub bed, associate this bramble with other unpretentious plants such as white spireas, elderberries, guelder roses, lilacs or deciduous Euonymus. It can also be used to form a large ground cover, it will decorate a wild corner like a semi-shaded slope with carpets of periwinkles, a Polygonum, creeping bugles, all of which are vigorous plants that are also undemanding. It can also be trained on a fence grid for example.