Taste of Heaven® Blackberry

Taste of Heaven® Blackberry (Rubus 'Ponca') changes the game for home blackberry growing. After tasting hundreds of varieties, Proven Winners® selected this one for its exceptional sweetness, large size, and perfect balance of juice to seeds. These aren't the tart, seedy berries you might remember from wild brambles or disappointing grocery store cartons. Each berry measures close to an inch long and delivers rich, full-bodied flavor that tastes like the very best of summer.

The thornless canes make all the difference in how you experience this plant. You can reach into the foliage to pick ripe berries without getting scratched. You can prune and tie canes without protective gear. Kids can help with the harvest without tears. This single feature transforms blackberry growing from a thorny chore into a genuine pleasure.

How Taste of Heaven® Grows and Fruits

This is a floricane-fruiting blackberry, which means it produces berries on second-year canes. In the first year, new green canes emerge from the crown and grow three to five feet tall with lush foliage. These first-year canes, called primocanes, don't flower or fruit. They simply grow and store energy in the roots. The following summer, those same canes become woody floricanes that produce clusters of white flowers followed by large black berries over several weeks in midsummer. Once fruiting finishes, those canes die back and you cut them to the ground.

The extended harvest period means you're picking fresh berries for weeks rather than dealing with one overwhelming glut. The first flush ripens in midsummer, followed by a secondary crop 14 to 20 days later. Berries are ready when they turn deep black and pull away from the plant easily. A gentle tug should release them into your hand.

Landscape Uses and Garden Design

Taste of Heaven® fits into landscapes more easily than sprawling blackberry varieties because it stays compact at three to five feet tall and wide. The erect, self-supporting canes don't require a trellis, though adding one simplifies pruning and harvest. Plant it along a fence line, use it as an edible hedge, or tuck it into a sunny corner of the vegetable garden. The white spring flowers attract native bees and other pollinators, and the berries feed you and the birds.

In smaller yards or patios, grow Taste of Heaven® in a large container at least 15 to 20 gallons. Container plants need more frequent watering and fertilizing than in-ground plants, but they give you the flexibility to move them to optimal sun or shelter them from extreme weather.

Why This Blackberry Stands Out

Taste of Heaven® solves the main frustrations people have with growing blackberries. The thornless canes eliminate the scratches and snags. The compact size keeps it manageable without constant wrestling. The truly sweet flavor means you'll actually want to eat the harvest fresh instead of feeling obligated to cook it all into jam. And the disease resistance shown in university trials means you spend more time enjoying berries and less time fighting problems. This is a blackberry bred specifically for home gardeners who want great fruit without the usual aggravation.