In my (still fruitless) search for a good early blackberry, I bought a Reuben plant (mainly, and stupidly, because that is the name of sweetheart spouse)....after the debacle with Helen. As always space is at a premium and I am reluctant to plant another dog....but so far, searching out hedgerow blackberries is all well and good but there is nothing worth picking until September....and I want fruit in July/early August to get the entire preserving nightmare over and done with.
So, should I simply plonk Reuben (the plant that is,) on a spare bit of ground in my woods (reviews of its performance have not been good).....or should I allocate some precious space at the allotment......or can you suggest a really good early with nice, easily pickable fruit (Helen was a squishy nightmare). Thorns (or lack of) not an issue.
I bought Reuben a few years ago, and in my opinion it's a waste of space.
in the last two years it first fruit was picked on 28th September and the following year, first fruit was 20th October.
the growth is about 1.3m high vertical with very little spread.