The Ultimate Guide to Growing Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries: Unrivaled Flavor, Productivity, and Effortless Harvest

Prepare to transform your garden with the exceptional Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries! Whether you’re planning for a single bush or an expansive row, these remarkable berries promise an abundance of the most delicious and easy-to-harvest fruit you’ll ever grow. Their stellar attributes have earned them a top spot in countless home gardens, and for very good reason.

The Triple Crown Blackberry has undeniably become our family’s favorite, surpassing even our previously beloved Marionberry. This isn’t solely due to its coveted thornless canes, which certainly simplify harvesting; it’s a combination of incredible flavor, impressive productivity, and surprising ease of maintenance that truly sets it apart. Initially, I introduced three Triple Crown bushes into an 8-foot row three years ago, primarily drawn by their thornless nature. My goal was simple: to replace unruly, stubbornly thorny blackberries that had resisted removal for years. The thornless variety provided an ingenious solution, making it instantly obvious if any rogue thorny shoots from the old plants attempted to resurface. This strategy proved highly effective, clearly identifying unwanted growth.

What started as a practical gardening decision quickly evolved into a delightful discovery. We soon realized that the berries from these thornless bushes were not just good, they were truly exceptional. Many were remarkably large, boasting a succulent juiciness that redefined our blackberry experience. Furthermore, their extended fruiting season impressed us immensely. By the third year, those modest three bushes yielded an astonishing harvest, providing more than enough blackberries to satisfy all our fresh-eating desires—from delightful desserts like refreshing berry parfaits and big crumb berry crisps—and still leaving us with ten quart-sized bags of frozen berries for later enjoyment. It was at this point that I knew I had to share this incredible find with fellow gardeners! Some links in this article are affiliate links, and if you click on them, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you – thank you for your support!

Where to Buy Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries

Ready to experience the joy of growing these incredible berries yourself? Here are some reputable sources where you can purchase Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries online:

• Amazon
• Stark Brothers Online
• Burpee Online (This is where my original plants were ordered from a few years ago)
• Gurney’s Online

Basic Growing Information for Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries

Cultivating Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries is a rewarding experience, even for novice gardeners. Understanding their basic needs will help ensure a bountiful harvest year after year. Here’s what you need to know:

• Named for Excellence: The “Triple Crown” moniker is well-deserved, representing its three outstanding attributes: exceptional flavor, remarkable productivity, and vigorous growth. Beyond these, it also boasts good disease resistance and consistently produces impressively large berries.
• Hardiness Zones: These blackberries thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. While they generally prefer milder climates, some northern regions (e.g., Zone 5) can successfully grow them with adequate winter protection or by using tunnels to provide additional cold hardiness. Always check your local climate and consider covering plants during severe freezes.
• Spacing: The recommended planting distance for Triple Crown blackberries is typically 5 feet apart. This allows for optimal air circulation and cane development. However, as noted from personal experience, plants spaced a bit closer, like 3-4 feet apart, can also perform exceptionally well, producing dense, productive rows.
• Soil and Sunlight: Triple Crown blackberries prefer slightly acidic, well-drained soil. Good drainage is crucial to prevent root rot, while a slightly acidic pH (between 6.0 and 7.0) helps with nutrient uptake. They perform best in full sun, which means at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, but they can tolerate partial shade, though this might slightly reduce fruit production.
• Cane Structure and Pruning: These plants are known for their very sturdy, semi-erect canes. This means they grow upright but can produce some longer, non-fruiting canes mid-summer that may arch. This is where “tip-pruning” comes in. For established shrubs, simply cut these new, vigorous canes back to a manageable height of 4-5 feet when they get too long. This encourages the plant to put energy into developing lateral shoots that will bear fruit the following year.
• Post-Harvest and Winter Pruning: Immediately after you’ve finished harvesting fruit, it’s essential to remove all canes that have fruited right down to the ground. These are spent canes and will not produce again. In late winter or early spring, before new growth begins, inspect your remaining canes. Remove any that appear damaged by winter cold or disease. Thin the remaining healthy canes, aiming for 4 or 5 strong, well-spaced canes per plant. Trim the lateral (side) shoots of these canes to encourage better air circulation and fruit development.
• Support: While the canes are sturdy, plants generally perform best when supported. A simple trellis system or staking can help manage growth, prevent canes from breaking under the weight of abundant fruit, and keep berries off the ground, ensuring cleaner, healthier fruit.

For more in-depth growing details and tips on caring for thornless blackberries, you can explore resources like SFGate Home Guides.

5 Compelling Reasons to Grow Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries in Your Garden

1. They Offer an Exceptionally Long Harvest Period

One of the most impressive features of Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries is their extended fruiting season. While many growing guides suggest a generous 4-5 week harvest period – already longer than many other berry varieties – our experience has shown these plants producing for almost two full months! The initial 4 weeks typically constitute the “main” harvest, during which you’ll be filling large bowls every 2-4 days with ripe, juicy fruit. Following this peak, the plants continue to yield smaller, yet consistent, bowls full of berries as the remaining fruit gradually ripens. This prolonged production ensures a steady supply of fresh blackberries throughout a significant portion of the summer, perfect for daily enjoyment or staggered preservation.

The beauty of this extended harvest is beautifully illustrated in the photo above. Here, you can clearly see berries that have already been picked, alongside those perfectly ripe and ready for immediate harvest. Further to the right are redder berries, signaling they will be ready to pick in about a week, and even vibrant green berries that promise future sweetness in a couple of weeks. This continuous cycle means fewer frantic harvesting sessions and more leisurely enjoyment of your crop.

2. Effortless and Joyful Picking Thanks to Thornless Canes

The most obvious, yet profoundly impactful, advantage of Triple Crown Blackberries is embedded right in their name: they are thornless. If you’ve ever battled thorny blackberry bushes, enduring scratches and snags just to reach that perfectly ripe fruit, you’ll instantly understand the absolute delight of a thornless variety. Imagine spotting that plump, glistening berry nestled deep within the foliage, seemingly just out of reach. With Triple Crown, there’s no hesitation; you can simply extend your hand and pluck it with ease, no fear of painful thorns. This makes harvesting an enjoyable, injury-free experience for everyone, from seasoned gardeners to curious children. It means every single berry, no matter how strategically hidden, is within comfortable reach, maximizing your harvest and minimizing frustration.

3. Compact Growth and Simple Maintenance

Despite their vigorous growth and high productivity, Triple Crown Blackberries are surprisingly compact and easy to manage. Their canes are remarkably sturdy, exhibiting a semi-erect habit that makes them much less sprawling than many other vining berry varieties. The key to their compact nature lies in simple “tip-pruning.” When new, long, non-fruiting canes emerge in early spring and again mid-summer, much like those shown in the photo above, you simply cut them back to the desired height, typically aligning with the other fruiting canes. This encourages the development of lateral shoots, transforming the plant into a neat, compact ‘bush’ rather than an unruly vine. This characteristic makes them an ideal choice for smaller backyard gardens, urban spaces, or even planting alongside a house or fence, where space might be at a premium.

This managed growth is a stark contrast to some other beloved vining berry canes, which can quickly become overwhelming:

For example, pictured above are our Marionberry plants. Marionberries are a legendary berry, especially in Oregon, revered for their complex, deep flavor that I once believed was unmatched by any other berry – until Triple Crown entered our lives. However, Marionberries come with a significant trade-off: extremely thorny, incredibly long vines that demand considerably more attention and lead to frequent scratches during maintenance and harvest. While I still adore Marionberries, and their earlier June production complements the Triple Crown’s later harvest, providing us with fresh blackberries all summer, their sprawling nature means they wouldn’t be feasible in a smaller garden setting. Triple Crown offers a superior solution for space-conscious gardeners without compromising on taste or yield.

4. They Produce Remarkably Large Berries

Prepare to be amazed by the sheer size of some Triple Crown Blackberries! While the plants consistently produce berries of various sizes, many truly reach gigantic proportions, like the impressive specimen at the bottom of the photo above. We’ve observed that the end of our row receiving more consistent watering tends to yield larger berries, underscoring the importance of adequate hydration for maximizing fruit size. There’s an undeniable thrill in discovering and savoring a berry of such magnitude; the novelty of a super-sized blackberry genuinely never fades, making each harvest an exciting treasure hunt. These larger berries not only look spectacular but also contribute to a greater overall yield and a more satisfying eating experience.

5. Exceptionally Flavorful Berries with Great Depth

As I previously mentioned, I once held the firm belief that no blackberry could rival the complex, rich flavor of Marionberries. However, the taste of Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries is truly astounding and has, surprisingly, won me over. These berries offer a delightful spectrum of flavors depending on their ripeness. Firmer berries tend to have a pleasing sweet-tart balance, providing a refreshing burst of flavor. As they mature further and begin to take on a slightly “dull” appearance, they develop a fuller, deeper sweetness that is incredibly satisfying. Regardless of the stage, there’s a remarkable depth to their flavor profile. Every person we’ve shared these berries with – and believe me, that’s a considerable number, as I can’t help but enthusiastically recommend them – has echoed our sentiment about their outstanding taste. This isn’t just hype; it’s a genuine taste revelation that every gardener should experience. Trust me when I say, your taste buds will thank you.

I’ll conclude with this vibrant photo taken in early August:

This image perfectly illustrates all the stages of berry development present simultaneously on a single Triple Crown bush in mid-summer, from delicate flowers promising future fruit, to green and ripening berries, all the way to perfectly ripe fruit ready for harvest and even evidence of recently picked clusters. This incredible display signifies weeks upon weeks of delicious, impressively large, and wonderfully easy-to-pick blackberries awaiting you – provided you make the excellent decision to plant them in your garden.

So, what do I hope you’ll do next?

(Tip: The deals on Amazon are often quite good for these plants, and my original order online performed wonderfully. Just ensure your purchase comes with a money-back guarantee for the initial few months, giving you peace of mind as your new plants establish.)

Tell me – who else grows these incredible berries? Do you love them as much as we do? Share your experiences in the comments below!

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