Rubus 'Prime - Ark® Freedom'
- Description
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'Freedom' is a cultivar of blackberry developed by John R. Clark at the University of Arkansas and is the first thornless primocane-fruiting blackberry ever developed. Primocane means that the plant blooms and fruits on both previous-year and current-year canes. It will grow 4-10 feet tall erect canes. Blackberries are in the rose family (Rosaceae).
The plant prefers full sun in fertile moist well-drained soils. It will tolerate clay soils and drought once established. 'Freedom' grows fast and is said to produce large sweet fruits. Being thornless is a great plus for harvesting fruits. The new canes will produce berries first in July and the previous year's canes will produce in June. They both will continue bearing until frost. This blackberry requires 500 chill hours.
'Freedom' is recommended for home gardeners and those who grow for local markets as it doesn't ship well. Blackberries can be used in the edible garden but also as barriers, screening or grown for wildlife.
Information on blackberry cultivation for home gardeners is available in the NC State Extension publication Blackberries for the Home Garden.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: This blackberry has good resistance to diseases and insects.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Rubus
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Wildlife Value:
- Attracts birds and small mammals
- Edibility:
- Edible fruit either raw or cooked
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Perennial
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Arching
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Fruit Type:
- Aggregate
- Drupe
- Fruit Description:
- The large elongated drupes are red maturing to black and are juicy and edible
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Corymb
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Cup
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Description:
- White to pink-tinged 5-petaled flowers are produced in abundance late spring to mid-summer. They are self-pollinating.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Doubly Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Compound leaves with 3-7 leaflets that are 1.5-2 inches long and lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate with soft hairs on both surfaces. Margins are serrated to doubly serrate, bases broadly cuneate to rounded and tip pointed
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Thornless green canes
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Landscape:
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Design Feature:
- Barrier
- Mass Planting
- Screen/Privacy
- Attracts:
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
