Aren't "wild" and "thornless" contradictions in term? I have plenty of wild blackberry brambles all over my zone 4 property, but they are all armed with a fearsome tangle of thorns.

the nursery owner i talked to said someone sent him a nearly thornless plant from s. maine. guess it happens but is rare. how big a berry do the ones near you grow and hows taste?

The berries used to be good sized for wild berries, and I used to pick and eat them, even made jam with them one year. However in recent years we have not had rain at the right times for the berries to develop into more than hard little nubs. Also the area where they grow is becoming forested and is shading out many of the plants. Lack of enough strong sun and lack of water has hurt them. I imagine if they were planted in a full sun area, watered and tended they might yield good fruit again, for one who was willing to endure the scratches.

I suppose that mutations in wild berries are what led to the development of domestic thornless blackberries in the first place, come to think of it. I assume your friend is attempting to recreate this breeding on his own, as opposed to buying already developed thornless domestic berries.

OK that reason makes sense. Domestic varieties often lack the hardiness of their wild cousins.

I will be happy to dig a few. There are some that grow in the path (a path that I hacked through a thicket of blackberry brambles some years ago) and the blackberries have been trying to reclaim their territory ever since. Normally I just whack them down with a weed whacker a couple times a year, but I will dig some of the little pests out and send them to a better place! They are tough and tenacious, and well adapted to my zone 4 property. I think we actually verge on zone 3 some of the time. Just email me an address to send them to at spedigre@sover.net. I'll ship them at my own expense.

thanks! glad to put them to good use! I'm on the zone 3b line as well. funny we don't have them wild around here. hopefully this guy is successful and i can change that. my address is : steve bossie 4 nelson ave frenchville , me 04745. do you have a paypal acct.? i could pay 4 shipping that way.