Rubus Taste of Heaven™ – Thornless Blackberry

Developed at the University of Arkansas as the variety ‘Ponca,’ now trademarked as Taste of Heaven® for its elevated sweetness and excellent flavor. The berries are medium size, very firm, early to ripen and mostly borne on the periphery of the plant canopy, providing easy access for harvest. The plant is essentially disease-free with resistance to anthracnose, orange blight and only slight susceptibility to cane and leaf rust. Canes are upright and can be trained to a self-supporting hedgerow though trellising with support wires helps prevent canes from falling under heavy fruit loads. Blackberries from Arkansas can be marginally cold hardy in New York; this one is rated to Zone 5B – it may be even more cold hardy based on its predominant Allegheny Blackberry parentage, though we’re still assessing it.