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Fruit EdibleShrubs

Rubus boysenberry, thornless (F)

thornless boysenberry

The thornless boysenberry is a vigorous hybrid berry with thornless canes spreading up to 2m wide. Small white flowers are borne in spring and the purple-black fruits, tasting like sweet blackberries, ripen in late summer

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Ultimate height

1.5–2.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

1.5–2.5 metres

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained, Well–drained

pH

Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or North–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Rosaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Trailing
Genus: Rubus can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, often scrambling with bristly or prickly stems bearing simple, lobed, palmate or pinnate leaves and 5-petalled flowers followed by juicy, sometimes edible fruits
Name status: Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Usually fan-trained on free-standing post and wire support systems or can be grown vertically over an arch. Mulch with well-rotted compost or manure

Propagation

Propagate by tip layering or from cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Cottage and informal garden
Banks and slopes
Hedging and screens

Pruning

Cut out old canes following fruiting and leave new canes tied together with soft string over winter. Untie and train along the support system in the spring. See pruning hybrid berries for more detail

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, raspberry beetle and gall mites

Diseases

May be susceptible to grey moulds and honey fungus (rarely)

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