Blackberries were my grandfather’s favorite fruit. With a birthday in August—right about blackberry harvesting time—Grandpa would not request a cake for his celebration, but a blackberry pie. I can still recall the grin on his face as he tucked into his pie.

I’m breaking the rules of “Just Veggies” this month by telling you about a fruit, not a veg. I’ve heard good things about a blackberry variety called ‘Big Daddy,’ and there’s something about that name that reminds me of Gramps. So I just had to talk about it.

In January I ran into a friend at a horticultural trade event. His company is a tissue culture operation, which means they propagate plants using the very tippy top of the growing point of a plant. Cut off this tip, which when it’s young is free of viruses and diseases, and place it on a petri dish full of nutrient gel and in a few weeks you’ll have a baby plant that is a replicate of the larger plant. Science is pretty cool, huh? This is how much of plant propagation happens, especially with plants that are hard to replicate from seeds or cuttings.

What Makes ‘Big Daddy’ Special

Anyway, this friend is growing several varieties of fruiting bushes, including one called ‘Big Daddy.’ He is excited about this plant for a number of reasons:

Huge fruits. As you might guess from its name, ‘Big Daddy’ has some pretty big fruits. They measure up to 2 inches in length! That’s about the length of my thumb. Super impressive.

Thornless. One of Grandpa’s great joys as an older adult was that he could send his grandchildren out to harvest the blackberries growing throughout the farm lot hedgerow. We’d dress in our thickest jeans and shirts at the hottest point of the summer to pick the plump berries off the thorn-filled vines. Ouch. Would Grandpa enjoy his birthday blackberry pie as much knowing the juicy fruits came off a thornless bush? I’m not so sure. But being thornless is one reason I would definitely purchase this variety.

Low chill requirement. Blackberries need a certain number of hours being in cold conditions. ‘Big Daddy’ needs just 400 hours of cold, whereas other varieties need upward of 800 hours. This means ‘Big Daddy’ can be easily grown in climates of the southern U.S.

On the small side. This isn’t the smallest thornless blackberry on the market, but it’s manageable at just 4-5 ft. tall. In fact, you could grow it in a large container with the help of a trellis.

High yield. One ‘Big Daddy’ blackberry bush can produce up to 15 pounds of fruit. That’s mainly because it’s self-pollinating and doesn’t need a mate to rely on.

While high yield and large juicy berries are quite alluring, I’d say my favorite characteristic of ‘Big Daddy’ is its thornlessness. For Gramps, I know he would appreciate the entirety of the plant, especially around his birthday. Interested? Find a source of ‘Big Daddy’ online—you could start HERE.