About
Blackberry 'Silvan' is suitable for culinary or dessert use and has attractive large, well-flavoured fruit. An early-ripening cultivar, it is very vigorous and thorny.
About the genus
Rubus can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, often scrambling with bristly or prickly stems bearing simple, lobed, palmate or pinnate leaves and 5-petalled flowers followed by juicy, sometimes edible fruits
Growing conditions
SunlightFull sun
Soil typeClay, Loam, Sand
Soil pHNeutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained, Well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing, East-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH6
Plant details
Plant typeFruit Edible
HabitTrailing
FoliageDeciduous
Height1.5-2.5 metres
Spread4-8 metres
Time to full height2-5 years
Suggested usesCottage and informal garden
Care notes
CultivationGrow in well-drained, deep soil that has been enriched with organic matter such as well-rotted manure or compost
PruningUsually fan trained, but blackberries can be trained in many creative ways. The principle is cut out fruited canes, leaving new growth to train in for fruiting the following year. Further advice on pruning blackberries
PropagationPropagate by tip layering or from cuttings
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to aphids, leafhoppers, raspberry beetle and gall mites
Disease resistanceMay be susceptible to grey moulds and honey fungus (rarely)