creeping bramble

Photo: Daderot — CC0 · source

Survives zone 7 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Mild, sweet, small — low yield; grown mainly as a shade groundcover.

Spread warning. Naturalized/escaped from cultivation in the UK (recorded as well-naturalized at Drakelow, Derbyshire by 1976) and in parts of temperate Europe, forming semi-natural stands in hedges, woodland edges and waste ground — regarded as a vigorous 'right plant, wrong place' grower rather than a listed noxious weed.

Hardiness

Zone 7–9

Habit

Groundcover

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Late summer

Mature size

Creeping evergreen groundcover 10–20 cm tall, spreading 1.5–2 m

Light

SHADE to partial — tolerates deep shade; a true forest-garden groundcover (low yield)

Soil pH

6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in southwest China, on steep banks and in scrub up to 3,000m elevation; introduced to Britain in 1907 and well-naturalized in parts of the UK by the 1970s.

Status

Cultivated

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

Fast — canes can extend up to 2m in a single season, forming a dense mat within a few years.

Spacing

200 cm (79 in) apart — about 4 m² (43 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Trifoliate leaves, glossy dark green above with dense white felt beneath, held on red-bristled stems; the contrast between leaf, felt and stem is the origin of the name tricolor. Evergreen, though may become deciduous in severe winters.

Root system

Non-thorny, spreading rootstock that suckers below ground and also roots adventitiously wherever trailing stems touch soil.

Fruit description

Bright red, aggregate (drupelet) berries to about 17mm across, borne on thornless, red-bristled stems; fruit quality varies by seedling — some good, some bland — which matches its reputation for low, inconsistent yield.

Propagation

Tip layering, softwood cuttings in summer, or hardwood cuttings in winter; it also spreads readily on its own from rooting stems.

Pollination

⚠ Self-sterile — needs 2 plants

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.