Himalayan blackberry is a European species of perennial deciduous shrub in the rose (Rosaceae) family now widespread in North America. It is common in the mountains of North Carolina and occasionally found on the Piedmont and coastal parts of the state. This plant is easy to propagate with rooting canes (branches) than seeds. It grows well in full sun or light shade and in most soils (sandy, loamy, or clay). It prefers well-drained loamy soil. The fruit is edible, but not as useful for that purpose as other species of blackberry. This blackberry has biennial stems, that is, it produces a number of new stems each year from the perennial rootstock that fruit in their second year and then die. The plant produces apomictic flowers, which produce fruit and viable seed without fertilization, each seedling is a genetic copy of the parent. 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: Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. It can be very weedy and invasive in some areas of the country, especially in the pacific northwest. More information on Rubus .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Creeping
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Prickly
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves are palmately compound with three or five leaflets. Deciduous to semievergreen terminal elliptic or ovate to suborbiculate, base rounded to shallowly cordate, unlobed, margins moderately to coarsely serrate, apex acute or acuminate to short-attenuate, abaxial surfaces white (gray-green in shade), with hooked prickles on largest veins, short-velutinous to tomentose, eglandular, rarely sparsely sessile-glandular along midveins.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Cup
Flower detail
Flowers are white or pink, in large arrays at the ends of branches, sometimes containing as many as 100 flowers. Blooms from April to June.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Black
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
< 1 inch long
Fruit detail
Mature fruit is up to 3/4 of an inch long.
Stem detail
arching, sometimes creeping early or with age, sparsely to densely hairy, eglandular or sparsely sessile-glandular, not or weakly pruinose; prickles moderately dense, hooked, erect, stout, broad- or narrow-based.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe
Distribution
Has naturalized in much of North America
Wildlife value
This plant provides nectar for pollinators and fruits for birds and other animals.
Attracts
Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Fruit
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Drupe
Edibility
Edible raw or cooked, but flavor is not as satifying as other species of blackberry.
Landscape Use
Garden tags
#shrub #edible fruits #spines #nectar plant late spring #nectar plant early summer #nectar plant mid-spring #thorns #showy fruits #fast growing #high maintenance #aggressive #perennial #wildlife friendly #weedy