Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry Live Plant – High Yield Fruit Bush, Outdoor

Overview

Introducing the Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant, a fantastic addition to any home garden seeking bountiful and delicious fruit. This remarkable Rubus fruit plant is renowned for its impressive yields and, as its name suggests, its completely thornless canes, making harvesting a joy rather than a chore. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting, this variety offers a rewarding experience with minimal fuss. The Big Daddy blackberry is a live plant, ready to establish itself in your outdoor space and provide years of delectable berries. Its vigorous growth and self-fertile nature mean you only need one plant to start enjoying a generous harvest.

The Big Daddy variety is celebrated for its large, sweet berries and vigorous growth habit. It’s a perennial shrub that will return year after year, enriching your garden with both beauty and productivity. Unlike many other blackberry varieties, the absence of thorns makes it particularly appealing for families and those who prefer an easier picking experience. Prepare to be amazed by the sheer volume of fruit this single Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant can produce, transforming your garden into a berry paradise.

Key Benefits

The Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant offers numerous advantages for the home gardener, combining ease of care with exceptional productivity. Here are some of the standout benefits:

• High Yielding: Each Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant is capable of producing an impressive 10 to 15 pounds of delicious fruit per growing season, ensuring a plentiful harvest for fresh eating, baking, or preserving.
• Thornless Canes: Enjoy hassle-free harvesting and pruning thanks to the completely thornless nature of this blackberry bush, making it safe and easy for everyone to pick berries.
• Self-Fertile: As a self-fertile specimen, you only need one plant to produce fruit, simplifying your garden planning and ensuring a harvest even with limited space.
• Attractive Garden Addition: Beyond its fruit production, this thornless blackberry bush adds a beautiful, lustrous deep green color to your garden, making it an attractive landscape plant.
• Winter Hardy: These robust shrubs are winter-hardy and thrive in USDA zones 5-9, making them suitable for a wide range of climates across the US.
• Versatile Use: The berries are perfect for eating fresh, making jams and jellies, pies, smoothies, or freezing for later enjoyment, offering culinary versatility.
• Compact Growth Habit: The Big Daddy blackberry produces stiff, short canes that grow upright from the crown, forming a neat hedgerow that is easier to manage than sprawling varieties.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant is relatively straightforward, ensuring a bountiful harvest with proper attention. These plants thrive in full sun, meaning they need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day to produce the best fruit. Choose a location in your garden that receives ample sun exposure throughout the day. While they are adaptable, a well-draining soil rich in organic matter is ideal. Amend heavy clay soils with compost to improve drainage, or sandy soils to enhance water retention. The ideal pH for blackberries is slightly acidic, between 6.0 and 6.5.

Watering is crucial, especially during dry spells and when the fruit is developing. Aim for about 1 inch of water per week, either from rainfall or irrigation. Keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged. Fertilize in early spring with a balanced slow-release fertilizer designed for fruiting plants, following package instructions. Pruning is essential for productivity and plant health; remove spent fruiting canes (floricanes) after harvest, and thin out weaker new canes (primocanes) in late winter or early spring. The thornless blackberry bush is winter-hardy in zones 5-9, but in colder zones, consider providing winter protection by mulching heavily around the base. Watch out for common pests like aphids or spider mites, and treat with organic insecticidal soap if necessary. Proper air circulation helps prevent fungal diseases.

Size & Details

Our Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant is shipped as a live starter plant, typically with roots wrapped damp to ensure freshness upon arrival. These plants are known for their vigorous growth and will quickly establish themselves in your garden. They produce stiff, short canes that grow upright, creating a manageable hedgerow. Expect your plant to reach a mature height of 4-6 feet and a similar spread, making it a substantial yet contained fruit-bearing shrub. The biennial fruiting cycle means new growth in one year produces fruit the next, ensuring continuous harvests from established plants. With proper care, you can expect fruit production to begin within 1-2 years after planting, with full maturity and maximum yield achieved in subsequent years.

This variety is specially selected for its ability to produce a high yield of fruit, offering 10 to 15 pounds per plant once mature. The berries are large, sweet, and flavorful, perfect for a variety of culinary uses. Plant spacing should be approximately 3-4 feet apart if planting multiple bushes to allow for adequate air circulation and growth. The plant’s robust nature means it will quickly develop into a productive Rubus fruit plant, providing you with fresh, homegrown blackberries season after season. This is an excellent choice if you want to grow blackberries that are easy to manage and highly productive.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: The Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry plant typically grows to a mature height of 4-6 feet with a similar spread. Its upright growth habit makes it relatively compact and easy to manage in a garden setting.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: The plants are shipped as live starter plants, often with roots wrapped damp for safe transit. You will need to plant them in your garden or a larger pot upon arrival.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: This is an outdoor plant, specifically a thornless blackberry bush, that thrives in garden settings and requires full sun exposure to produce fruit. It is not suitable for indoor cultivation.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: The Big Daddy Thornless Blackberry requires full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, for optimal growth and fruit production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Big Daddy variety is considered relatively easy to care for. Its thornless nature simplifies harvesting and pruning, making it a great choice for beginners looking to grow blackberries.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your live plant will arrive carefully packaged, typically with its roots wrapped to maintain moisture and ensure it’s healthy and ready for planting.
• Q: How long until it blooms and fruits? A: You can typically expect your Rubus fruit plant to start producing fruit within 1-2 years after planting, with a full harvest achieved in subsequent years as the plant matures.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: The best time to plant blackberry bushes is typically in early spring after the last frost, allowing the plant ample time to establish before the heat of summer.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: This variety is winter-hardy and thrives in USDA zones 5 through 9. If you are in zone 5, some winter protection like mulching may be beneficial.
• Q: What are the main benefits of a thornless variety? A: The primary benefit of a thornless variety like the Big Daddy is significantly easier and safer harvesting of the fruit, as well as simplified pruning and maintenance without the risk of being pricked.