Loganberry

Sun

Full sun gives the best crops; light partial shade is tolerated.

Water

Keep soil evenly moist, especially during flowering and fruit development, but never waterlogged.

Soil

Fertile, well-drained soil enriched with compost; slightly acidic soil is ideal. Avoid poorly drained ground and very chalky soil.

Height

5-6 ft (1.5-1.8 m) on supports

Spread

8-12 ft (2.4-3.7 m) when trained along wires

Flowers

White to pale pink flowers in late spring to early summer.

Foliage

Green, toothed leaves divided into leaflets on long, arching canes; usually deciduous, sometimes retaining leaves in mild winters.

Growth

Fast; new canes can grow several metres in a season.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

2. After 1 year

   2.8 ft (0.85 m)

3. After 2 years

   4 ft (1.2 m)

4. After 3 years

   5 ft (1.6 m)

5. After 5 years

   5 ft (1.7 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Install strong posts and horizontal wires before planting, and tie canes in loosely as they grow.
• Water deeply during dry spells, particularly while berries are swelling.
• Apply compost and a balanced fruit fertiliser in early spring, following the product's rate.
• Mulch annually with organic matter, keeping it clear of the crown.
• Keep new canes separate from fruiting canes, and lift their tips off the soil to prevent rooting.
• Net ripening fruit against birds using taut, wildlife-safe mesh secured clear of the berries.

Pruning. After harvest, cut every cane that has fruited down to ground level. Retain and tie in the strongest new canes for next year's crop, removing weak or crowded growth.

Pick berries in early to midsummer, depending on climate, when they are deep wine-red, slightly soft and detach easily with a gentle pull; the core stays inside the fruit. Harvest frequently because ripe berries are delicate and do not keep long. Expect the first worthwhile crop about two years after planting.

Winter

Plant dormant stock when soil is workable and not waterlogged; install supports.

Early spring

Feed, apply fresh mulch and check cane ties.

Late spring

Guide new canes separately from flowering canes and water during dry weather.

Summer

Protect ripening berries from birds and pick fully coloured fruit regularly.

Late summer

Once harvesting finishes, remove spent canes at ground level and tie in their replacements.

Autumn

Remove unwanted rooted cane tips and clear diseased leaves and shrivelled berries.

• Train along a sunny boundary fence to produce fruit without occupying the centre of the garden.
• Use a freestanding wire framework as a productive divider between vegetable beds and other garden areas.
• Grow against a sunny wall in cooler districts to help fruit ripen, allowing space behind the canes for airflow.
• Place in a dedicated berry row with a low edging of thyme or chives, leaving clear access for picking and pruning.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, Potager (kitchen garden), Homestead, Edible landscape, Food forest and Traditional.

Plant it with: Chives, Thyme, Calendula and Borage.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Birds eat the berries, and dense canes can offer shelter.

• Grey mould on berries: improve airflow, avoid wetting flowers and fruit, and remove mouldy berries promptly.
• Cane blight or dieback: cut affected canes back to healthy tissue or ground level, remove the debris and avoid damaging young canes.
• Spotted wing drosophila, where present: pick frequently, remove overripe fruit and use fine insect mesh before berries begin colouring.
• Poor crops from incorrect pruning: retain this year's healthy new canes, which carry next year's fruit, and remove only spent, weak or diseased canes.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. The ripe berries are edible; prickly forms can cause scratches or eye injuries, which are physical hazards rather than poisoning.

• Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

  A ripe raspberry pulls away leaving its central core on the plant, so the picked fruit is hollow. Loganberries retain their core and are usually longer and darker red.

• Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus aggregate)

  Most blackberries ripen glossy black, whereas loganberries ripen deep wine-red and usually have a more elongated shape. Both retain the core when picked.

Loganberry and the botanical epithet loganobaccus honour James Harvey Logan, who raised the original hybrid in Santa Cruz, California, in the early 1880s.

Propagation. Root the tip of a healthy new cane in a pot or patch of soil in late summer, then detach it from the parent once well rooted. Use disease-free stock; seedlings do not reliably reproduce the parent plant.

Accepted botanical name

Rubus loganobaccus

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.