Rubus fruticosus 'Navaho' (Blackberry)

Navaho is Oregon's go-to thornless blackberry for a good reason: the OSU Extension rates its flavor as excellent, the canes are fully erect and completely thorn-free, and the plant can grow in every region of the state. Developed by the University of Arkansas, it was one of the first truly upright thornless blackberries, meaning it needs no trellis and harvesting is genuinely pleasant. The dark, glossy berries ripen in July, running midseason in the Willamette Valley, and fruit on two-year floricanes in solid, manageable clusters.

The berries themselves are large, up to an inch long, with a sweet-tart flavor and firm texture that holds up beautifully in cooking. They make exceptional jam, cobblers, and pies, and freeze without turning to mush. Eaten fresh, they have that deep, inky blackberry complexity that the more common trailing varieties can't quite match. Once established after about three years, plants are productive enough to yield 15 pounds of fruit per plant in a good season.

Prune out spent floricanes after harvest each year and tip the new primocanes in summer to encourage branching.