Rubus 'Prime Ark Freedom' (Thornless Blackberry)

Rubus 'Prime Ark Freedom' blackberry is a thornless primocane blackberry cultivar developed by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. While many blackberry cultivars only produce fruit on old growth, called floricane, primocane blackberry cultivars produce fruit and new and old growth, adding the potential for more profuse fruit production and an extended fruiting season! 'Prime Ark Freedom' has the additional benefit of being a thornless variety, making harvesting its heavy fruit set even easier through the summer.

Performing best in full sun and consistently moist but well drained soil, 'Prime Ark Freedom' is noted for its long, large fruits with a slightly earlier set than the popular 'Natchez' cultivar. While these blackberry plants are obviously valuable to the home gardener for their tasty fruit, they're also ecologically valuable to a variety of pollinators, including butterflies and their larvae, as well as birds and mammals both small and large. While 'Prime Ark Freedom' can reach towering heights of up to 10' tall, regular pruning will result in better branching structure, a more easily controlled size, and better fruit and flower production over time.