Rubus fruticosus agg. 'Karaka Black' (B)

RHS Plant Profile
blackberry 'Karaka Black'

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Rubus fruticosus agg. 'Karaka Black' (B)?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
blackberry 'Karaka Black' RHS
blackberry 'Karaka Black' RHS
blackberry 'Karaka Black' RHS
blackberry 'Karaka Black' RHS

Synonyms

Rubus 'Karaka Black'

RHS Recommended

Plants for pollinators
Shrubs Fruit Edible
Buy this from Plant Nurseries
9 Suppliers

A thorny-stemmed blackberry cultivar with arching canes to around 2m tall bearing lobed, dark green leaves. White flowers are followed by large, shiny black fruit reaching up to 7.5cm in length; the long cropping season extends from early summer into autumn

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

1.5-2.5 metres

Max Spread

4-8 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
4-8 metres
Max Height
1.5-2.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH
Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
North–facing or South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H6

RHS Recommended: for People & Planet

RHS Recommended Plants for People & Planet

For Water Resilience

Plants for Flood Resilience

Plants that can help manage heavy rain by catching rainfall, slowing surface run-off, encouraging water into the soil or taking it up through their roots, contributing to flood resilient gardens.

Plants for both Wet and Dry Conditions

Plants that cope with changing soil moisture, including wet winters and extended summer dry. Once established, they grow as wet and dry conditions alternate.

For Temperature Resilience

Plants for Temperature Cooling

Plants that cool air temperature by providing shade, transpiration, or reflection to reduce heat impact on people, animals, soil or other ground surface.

Plants for Wind Shelter

Plants with dense canopies often grown as a tall thick hedge or grouping can block wind and shelter gardens, buildings and people.

For Carbon Storage

Plants for Carbon Storage

Plants that can take up carbon (CO₂) through photosynthesis and store it within the plant or deposit it by their roots into the soil.

For Biodiversity

Plants for Pollinators

Plants that have flowering properties (pollen and/or nectar) that are particularly beneficial for pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies.

Growing conditions for maximum benefit

This plant will provide the maximum benefits if it is healthy and allowed to grow to maturity

For Bio-Diversity

  • Plants for Pollinators

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Rosaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Trailing
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
Name Status
Accepted
Horticultural Group

Horticultural Classification Codes

Horticultural Classification Codes are often given to genera which have a large number of species or cultivars. They are used to categorise cultivated plants based on specific, shared characteristics such as shape, colour, size or flowering time, and can be displayed as letters or numbers

For example:
Dahlia ‘Sunset Kate (Sin) = Single flower
Rosa ‘Marigold’ (HT) = Hybrid Tea

This genus produces blackberries

How to Grow

Cultivation

Usually grown fan-trained on free-standing post and wire support systems. mulch with well-rotted compost or manure. May have the potential to become a nuisance if not managed well. See blackberry cultivation for further advice

Propagation

Propagate by tip layering or from cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Hedging and screens
  • Edible fruit

Pruning

Cut out old canes following fruiting and tie in new canes; see Pruning blackberries

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, leafhoppers, raspberry beetle and gall mites

Diseases

May be susceptible to grey moulds and honey fungus (rarely)