Rubus x 'Prime Ark Freedom'

Now grow thornless blackberries like you do primocane raspberries! Prime Ark Freedom produces prolific, delicious harvests of sweet blackberries on thornless first year canes that don't require a trellis. Here's how you do it:

Plant the thornless cane and let it establish for a year. It will grow to six feet tall or more and produce a crop in July. Cut it to the ground each late fall. In late spring when it reaches 3 to 4 feet in height, cut 6 inches off the tip of each cane. The cane will produce branches and then flowers which in August and September in the Northwest will give you loads of delicious medium-to-large, firm, sweet berries. After the side branches reach about 15 inches you can pinch them back for even more production.

This new variety from our friends at the U of Arkansas. Freedom requires 500 chilling hours, and it's one of the most cold-hardy blackberries you can grow. Very early ripening. USDA Zones 5-9.