Best Berries & Fruits to Grow in Arkansas
Arkansas sits in USDA Hardiness Zone 7. These 32 berry varieties are suited to Arkansas's 210-day growing season with last frost around April 1 and first frost around October 30.
Varieties
32
for Arkansas
USDA Zone
7
210-day season
Beginner
10
easy to grow
Heirloom
1
heritage varieties
Arkansas in USDA Zone 7
Arkansas is primarily in Zone 7. Varieties that thrive in this zone will typically grow well across the state, though local microclimates vary.
When to Plant Berries & Fruits in Arkansas
Growing Berries & Fruits in Arkansas
Zone 7's generous 210-day growing season from April through October makes it a berry paradise for home gardeners. The moderate climate provides enough winter chill hours for most temperate fruits while avoiding the extreme heat that stresses many berry plants. However, the key challenge lies in selecting varieties that can handle both the occasional late spring frost around April 1st and the humid summers that can invite fungal diseases. Your variety choices will make or break your berry harvest success.
When choosing berries for Zone 7, prioritize disease resistance, heat tolerance, and varieties with staggered ripening times to extend your harvest window. Cold-hardy options like Honeyberry can fruit early in the season, while heat-tolerant cultivars like Emerald Blueberry and Prime-Ark Freedom Blackberry thrive through summer heat. The varieties I've selected here have proven themselves in Zone 7's specific conditions, offering reliable yields and excellent fruit quality for gardeners who want consistent harvests year after year.
Variety Comparison
Variety Details
Anne Golden Raspberry
A stunning everbearing yellow raspberry that produces sweet, honey-flavored berries from summer through fall. This primocane variety offers the unique appeal of golden-yellow fruit that's less attractive to birds while delivering exceptional sweetness and a delicate, almost tropical flavor. Anne's thornless canes and compact growth habit make it ideal for small gardens and containers.
Apache Thornless Blackberry
A premium thornless blackberry variety developed by the University of Arkansas, producing some of the largest and sweetest blackberries available to home gardeners. This erect-growing variety requires no trellising and produces heavy crops of glossy black berries with exceptional flavor and firmness. Apache's self-supporting canes and extended harvest period make it ideal for gardeners wanting maximum fruit production with minimal maintenance.
Aronia Berry (Chokeberry)
Often called the ultimate superfruit, aronia berries pack more antioxidants than blueberries, goji berries, or acai. These native North American shrubs are incredibly hardy and adaptable, thriving where other berries struggle. While tart when fresh, they transform into delicious jams, juices, and baked goods while providing exceptional nutritional benefits.
Black Pearl Ornamental Pepper
A stunning ornamental pepper with jet-black foliage and small, round berries that mature from black to red. Winner of the All-America Selections award, this compact plant serves double duty as both landscape accent and edible crop. The berries pack serious heat while adding dramatic color to gardens and containers.
Bluecrop Blueberry
The gold standard of highbush blueberries and America's most widely planted variety for good reason. This mid-season producer yields large, flavorful berries with excellent storage quality and consistent annual crops. Bluecrop's exceptional cold hardiness, disease resistance, and reliable performance make it the perfect choice for beginner blueberry growers.
Blueray Blueberry
A premier northern highbush blueberry developed by the USDA, prized for its exceptionally large, firm berries and outstanding flavor. This vigorous grower produces heavy crops of light blue berries with excellent storage quality, making it a favorite for both fresh eating and preserving. The attractive spring flowers and brilliant fall foliage add ornamental value to any landscape.
Boyne Red Raspberry
An exceptionally hardy red raspberry developed in Manitoba, Canada, capable of surviving temperatures down to -40°F without winter protection. This early-ripening variety produces medium-sized, bright red berries with excellent flavor and remarkable productivity despite its compact size. Boyne is perfect for northern gardeners who thought raspberries were impossible to grow in their climate.
Brightwell Rabbiteye Blueberry
A premium rabbiteye blueberry variety developed by the University of Georgia, prized for its exceptionally large, firm berries with outstanding sweet flavor. This vigorous, upright bush produces heavy yields of light blue fruit that stores and ships better than most varieties. Perfect for hot, humid climates where Northern highbush varieties struggle.
Caroline Red Raspberry
A premium everbearing red raspberry that produces two crops per year - a summer harvest on second-year canes and a heavy fall crop on first-year canes. Known for exceptional fruit quality with large, firm berries that have outstanding flavor and excellent shelf life. This disease-resistant variety thrives in hot climates better than most raspberries, making it perfect for challenging growing conditions.
Chester Thornless Blackberry
The premier thornless blackberry variety, offering large, sweet berries without the painful thorns that make harvesting difficult. Chester produces heavy crops of firm, flavorful berries in late summer that are perfect for fresh eating and hold their shape beautifully in pies and jams. This semi-erect variety combines exceptional productivity with excellent disease resistance and cold hardiness.
Duke Blueberry
One of the finest early-season blueberry varieties, producing large, firm berries with exceptional sweet flavor in mid-June. Duke offers reliable annual production and excellent cold hardiness, making it a favorite among northern gardeners. The upright, vigorous bushes also provide beautiful white spring flowers and stunning orange-red fall foliage.
Elliott Blueberry
The season extender that blueberry enthusiasts dream about, Elliott produces sweet, firm berries well into late summer when other varieties have finished. This vigorous highbush variety offers excellent cold hardiness and consistent heavy yields of medium-large berries with exceptional storage quality. Its extended harvest period makes it invaluable for home gardeners wanting fresh blueberries from July through September.
Emerald Blueberry
A revolutionary southern highbush blueberry that produces massive, sweet berries without requiring winter chill hours. Perfect for warm climates where traditional blueberries struggle, Emerald offers exceptional fruit quality with a long harvest season that extends from late spring through early summer.
Everbearing Red Raspberry
A prolific everbearing raspberry that delivers two harvests per year - a summer crop on second-year canes and a fall crop on first-year canes. Known for producing large, firm berries with excellent flavor and superior keeping quality, making it a favorite among home gardeners seeking extended harvests.
Fall Gold Everbearing Raspberry
A unique yellow-fruited everbearing raspberry that produces sweet, mild berries on current-year canes. This thornless variety offers two harvests per year and exceptional cold hardiness. The golden berries are less acidic than red varieties, making them perfect for fresh eating and creating stunning dessert presentations.
Goji Berry (Wolfberry)
An ancient superfruit gaining popularity among health-conscious gardeners for its exceptional nutritional value and antioxidant content. This hardy shrub produces bright red berries with a sweet-tart flavor reminiscent of cranberries. Once established, goji berries are extremely drought-tolerant and can produce for decades.
Heritage Red Raspberry
America's most popular everbearing raspberry variety, delivering two harvests per year with exceptional reliability. These medium-sized berries offer outstanding flavor and freeze beautifully, making them perfect for both fresh eating and preserving. Heritage is renowned for its disease resistance and ability to produce consistent crops even for novice gardeners.
Honeyberry (Haskap)
An exciting superfruit that's gaining popularity among adventurous gardeners, producing unique elongated blue berries with a complex flavor reminiscent of blueberry-raspberry-cherry. These extremely cold-hardy bushes are among the first fruits to ripen in early summer, often ready weeks before strawberries. Honeyberries thrive in northern climates where other berries struggle and offer exceptional antioxidant content.
Jewel Black Raspberry
A premium black raspberry variety developed by Cornell University, prized for its exceptional sweet-tart flavor and firm, glossy berries. Jewel produces abundant crops of large, jet-black fruits that hold their shape beautifully for fresh eating or baking. This hardy variety offers excellent disease resistance and reliable harvests that make it a favorite among home gardeners.
Kiowa Thornless Blackberry
The largest-fruited blackberry variety available, with berries often exceeding 1 inch in length and delivering exceptional sweet flavor with low acidity. Developed by the University of Arkansas, this erect, thornless variety produces massive yields on strong, self-supporting canes. Despite its size, Kiowa maintains excellent fruit quality and is considered one of the best-tasting blackberries for fresh eating.
Legacy Blueberry
A late-season highbush blueberry prized for its enormous, firm berries that can reach the size of quarters. This vigorous variety produces consistently heavy crops of sweet, flavorful berries with excellent storage quality, making it perfect for fresh eating and preserving. Legacy's compact growth habit and beautiful fall foliage make it an attractive addition to any edible landscape.
Natchez Thornless Blackberry
The earliest ripening thornless blackberry variety, producing huge, sweet berries up to two weeks before other cultivars. Developed by the University of Arkansas, Natchez offers exceptional flavor, impressive berry size, and vigorous disease-resistant canes that make harvesting a pleasure without thorns.
Northland Blueberry
A cold-hardy, half-high blueberry bush that's perfect for northern gardeners and smaller spaces. This reliable variety produces abundant crops of medium-sized, sweet berries and offers beautiful fall color, making it both productive and ornamental in the landscape.
Ouachita Thornless Blackberry
A premium thornless blackberry that produces exceptionally large, sweet berries with outstanding flavor and firm texture. Developed by the University of Arkansas, this erect variety offers excellent disease resistance and consistent heavy yields without the hassle of thorns. Ouachita's berries maintain their quality longer than most varieties, making them perfect for fresh market sales or extended harvest enjoyment.
Patriot Blueberry
An exceptionally hardy northern highbush blueberry known for its consistent heavy yields and superior cold tolerance. This vigorous variety produces large, flavorful berries early in the season and demonstrates excellent resistance to root rot, making it ideal for challenging growing conditions and northern climates.
Prime-Ark 45 Blackberry
The first truly successful primocane-fruiting blackberry that produces large, firm berries on both first and second-year canes for extended harvests. This thornless variety delivers exceptional fruit quality with sweet, flavorful berries that rival the best traditional blackberries. The compact, manageable growth habit makes it perfect for home gardens where space is at a premium.
Prime-Ark Freedom Blackberry
A game-changing primocane blackberry that produces two crops annually on thornless canes, combining the best of both worlds - convenience and productivity. This University of Arkansas release offers large, firm berries with excellent flavor and the unique advantage of fruiting on first-year canes, extending your harvest season significantly.
Royalty Purple Raspberry
A stunning purple raspberry variety that combines the best traits of red and black raspberries, producing large, sweet-tart berries with a unique wine-like flavor. Developed at Cornell University, this vigorous grower produces heavy yields on strong, self-supporting canes. The deep purple fruit is perfect for fresh eating and makes spectacular jams with incredible color.
Saskatoon Berry (Serviceberry)
A native North American superfruit that's gaining popularity for its incredible health benefits and sweet, almond-like flavor. These hardy shrubs produce abundant crops of purple-blue berries and offer beautiful spring flowers and stunning fall foliage as bonus features. Perfect for edible landscaping and wildlife-friendly gardens.
Sea Buckthorn
An extraordinary superfruit packed with vitamin C, healthy fats, and antioxidants, often called the 'holy fruit of the Himalayas.' These extremely hardy shrubs produce brilliant orange berries on silver-leafed plants that add stunning ornamental value to the landscape. Perfect for harsh climates and coastal conditions where other berries won't survive.
Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry
A heat-tolerant rabbiteye blueberry that thrives in Southern climates where northern varieties fail. This vigorous producer yields large, firm berries with excellent flavor and superior storage quality. Perfect for gardeners in hot, humid regions who want reliable blueberry harvests.
Triple Crown Blackberry
Living up to its royal name, Triple Crown delivers the perfect trifecta of thornless canes, exceptional fruit quality, and outstanding disease resistance. This semi-erect variety produces large, sweet blackberries with seeds so small they're barely noticeable, making every bite pure pleasure. Developed at the University of Arkansas, it's become the go-to choice for gardeners who want premium blackberries without the painful thorns.
Zone 7 Growing Tips for Arkansas
Plant bare-root berry bushes in late fall through early March, while containerized plants can go in anytime the soil isn't frozen. For strawberries, plant June-bearers like Earliglow in early spring after soil workability, but wait until after your last frost for everbearing varieties like Albion and Seascape. Most berry plants benefit from afternoon shade during Zone 7's hot summers, so avoid full western exposure if possible.
Mulching becomes critical in Zone 7 to manage both moisture and temperature fluctuations. Apply 2-3 inches of organic mulch around plants, keeping it away from stems to prevent rodent damage over winter. The humidity that comes with Zone 7's climate means excellent air circulation is essential – space plants generously and prune for open centers. During establishment years, consider shade cloth during heat waves above 90°F, especially for newly planted blueberries and currants.