Temperate Fruit & Orchards > Temperate Fruit Discussion

Southern Dewberry

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The Herb Swamp:
Has anyone grown the southern dewberry, Rubus trivialis, in west central Florida? If so, how are the yields, disease resistance, etc.? I only get 100 chill hours, so most normal blackberries aren’t reliable but this one is native to Florida and truly low chill.

I heard that it taste more complex than the typical blackberry but I haven’t tried it yet.

Galatians522:
I have not grown it, but I have eaten it from the wild. It is native here to Highlands County although the sand blackberry is far more common. You should have no trouble fruiting it with 100 chill hours. Keep in mind that they grow more as a vine than a bush. So, you will need a trellis or something for it to crawl over so that you don't have to stoop 1' from the ground to pick your berries. The flavor is good--probably the best Florida native rubus. The yield will not be very high in comparison to domesticated blackberries. The easiest way to tell the difference between a black berry and a dew berry is by the thorns. Blackberries only have thorns. Dew berries have thorns like a blackberry but also the spiky hairs similar to a raspberry all on the same stem. Once you see them both together that are easy to differentiate.

Other blackberries that we have fruited here include Brazos, Navajo (thornless), and Ouichita (also thornless with good flavor).

The Herb Swamp:

--- Quote from: Galatians522 on October 22, 2025, 07:48:45 AM ---I have not grown it, but I have eaten it from the wild. It is native here to Highlands County although the sand blackberry is far more common. You should have no trouble fruiting it with 100 chill hours. Keep in mind that they grow more as a vine than a bush. So, you will need a trellis or something for it to crawl over so that you don't have to stoop 1' from the ground to pick your berries. The flavor is good--probably the best Florida native rubus. The yield will not be very high in comparison to domesticated blackberries. The easiest way to tell the difference between a black berry and a dew berry is by the thorns. Blackberries only have thorns. Dew berries have thorns like a blackberry but also the spiky hairs similar to a raspberry all on the same stem. Once you see them both together that are easy to differentiate.

Other blackberries that we have fruited here include Brazos, Navajo (thornless), and Ouichita (also thornless with good flavor).

--- End quote ---
Nice! Thanks so much for the feedback. I hate how limited we are when it comes to brambles down here. I’m looking to trying to get my hands on the Australian Atherton raspberry. I hear Navajo is bitter… is that true? Maybe they meant Natchez.

Galatians522:
I would describe Navajo as sour more than bitter. With Miracle fruit they taste amazing.

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