Navaho Bigandearly Thornless Blackberry - Generous - BIO

Navaho® ‘Bigandearly’® lives up to its name: it combines extra-large blackberries with an early harvest. The glossy black fruit is firm, juicy and intensely aromatic. Pick the berries fresh for snacking, or use them in preserves, pies, desserts, smoothies or the freezer.

Unlike traditional thorny blackberry bushes, ‘Bigandearly’ has thornless canes. That makes picking fruit much more comfortable and makes training and pruning the plant easier as well.

Its garden value continues after the harvest. In fall, the foliage can develop attractive red to reddish-brown tones, giving this productive berry plant another season of interest.

Upright growth for a more manageable blackberry

Many blackberry varieties produce long, sprawling canes. Navaho® ‘Bigandearly’® has a much more upright growth habit. Mature canes may reach approximately 6 to 10 feet tall while remaining relatively narrow.

Some support is still recommended. Train the canes against wires, a trellis or a sturdy post to keep the plant organized and make harvesting easier.

For the best fruit quality, choose a sunny location. Partial shade is possible, but good sunlight encourages earlier ripening and flavorful fruit. Plant in fertile, well-drained soil that retains some moisture. Avoid sites that stay waterlogged for long periods.

Your organically grown Navaho® ‘Bigandearly’® blackberry is supplied in our Royaal container (P15), giving you a well-established young plant ready to continue developing after planting.

When does Navaho Bigandearly produce blackberries?

This is an early-season blackberry. Depending on local climate and growing conditions, fruit can begin ripening in midsummer, with much of the crop maturing during a relatively concentrated harvest period.

For the best flavor, allow the berries to become completely black and pick them when they release easily from the plant.

Navaho® ‘Bigandearly’® is self-fertile, so one blackberry plant can produce fruit without another cultivar nearby.

How do you prune Navaho Bigandearly blackberry?

Understanding the blackberry's two-year cane cycle makes pruning much easier.

Navaho® ‘Bigandearly’® produces fruit on second-year canes. The fresh green canes growing this season are therefore important: they will carry next year's crop.

After harvest, remove canes that produced fruit by cutting them close to ground level. Keep the strong new canes and train them onto your support.

In late winter or early spring, shorten side branches on the retained canes to a few healthy buds. At the same time, remove weak, damaged or badly positioned growth.

Do not cut out all of the new canes. Those are exactly the canes you need for next year's fruit.

This simple renewal system keeps the blackberry productive while preventing the plant from becoming an untidy tangle.