Merton Thornless Blackberry Plants

• Variety: Merton Thornless, the mid-season thornless Blackberry
• Latin name: Rubus fruticosus 'Merton Thornless'
• Fruit: Large and black, with plenty of flavour. Heavy crops
• Picking: From late August, for a few weeks
• Size: 1.5 to 2.5m tall and 2.5 to 4m across
• Canes: Thornless
• Pollination: Self-fertile
• Spacing: 1.8 to 3m apart
• Support: Needs wires, a wall or a fence
• Position: Sun or partial shade, sheltered
• Soil: Fertile and moist. Copes with poor or damp soil
• Sold as: Bareroot plant, or pot-grown in a 3 litre pot
• Hardiness: H7, hardy in the severest British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Merton Thornless is the mid-season thornless Blackberry: big, black, well-flavoured fruit from late August on long canes with no thorns. It is a big plant that needs a wall, fence or wires, and it copes with poor or damp soil.

Merton Thornless Blackberry Plants

The mid-season pick to grow if you have space for it, Merton Thornless is also flawless, and the long spine free canes are painless to work with. The fruit retain a lot of the wild bramble kick, but are so much bigger and a fair bit sweeter.

Browse our blackberry bushes or our full range of soft fruit plants.

Growing Merton Thornless Blackberries:

Support will be necessary to keep your plants from becoming a mounded tangle on the ground. Due to its hefty size, a common strategy is "up and over but to me" a wall or fence, with the stems that are too tall for the fence turning back into your garden.

Spacing: 1.8 to 3 metres apart, depending on how you intend to train them on the support: some people go mostly up and down the other side of a support, keep it all quite narrow, and some people train the canes horizontally, which usually gives them more air and light.

Read more on how to grow blackberries.

Planting Companions

For a thornless patch, add Waldo and Triple Crown. For the jam pan, grow it with a Loganberry and a Boysenberry. Our guide to training and pruning Blackberries covers the support. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Buy Your Blackberries from Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Merton Thornless Blackberry comes bareroot while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot plants are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted plant delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Merton Thornless have any thorns?

No. The canes are thornless, so they are painless to work with.

When is it ready to pick?

From late August, for a few weeks, depending on the weather.

How much room does it need?

A lot. It grows 1.5 to 2.5 metres tall and spreads 2.5 to 4 metres, so plant 1.8 to 3 metres apart along a wall, fence or row of wires.

How do you prune it?

Once it is established, cut the canes that have fruited down to the ground after picking, and tie in the new ones.

Will it grow in damp soil?

Yes. It copes with poor or damp soil, though it does best in fertile soil that holds moisture.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot plants are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown plants can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.