Raspberry

Sun

Full sun gives the best crops; light afternoon shade helps in hot areas.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist, especially during flowering and fruit development. Avoid waterlogged soil and prolonged drying.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, ideally slightly acidic at pH 5.5-6.5. Use raised beds where drainage is poor.

Height

4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m)

Spread

3-5 ft (0.9-1.5 m), spreading farther by root suckers if unchecked

Flowers

Small white flowers in late spring to early summer; autumn-fruiting varieties also flower in summer.

Foliage

Green, toothed leaves with three to five leaflets and pale, often silvery-white undersides; canes usually bear fine prickles.

Growth

Fast; new canes can reach full height in one growing season.

Care needed

Medium

• Water deeply during dry spells, keeping water directed at the soil rather than the foliage.
• Apply a balanced fruit fertiliser in early spring at the label rate; avoid excessive nitrogen.
• Mulch with 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of compost or well-rotted organic matter, keeping it clear of cane bases.
• Support tall canes on posts and wires, tying them loosely to prevent wind damage.
• Remove suckers outside the growing row and keep the row narrow enough for good airflow.
• Pick ripe fruit frequently and use wildlife-safe netting, secured tightly, if birds take the crop.

Pruning. For summer-fruiting varieties, cut harvested canes to ground level immediately after cropping and retain strong new canes for next year. For a single late crop on autumn-fruiting varieties, cut all canes to ground level in late winter.

Late winter

Prune autumn-fruiting varieties to ground level for a single late crop; repair posts and support wires.

Early spring

Plant dormant canes while the soil is workable, then water, feed and mulch.

Late spring

Tie in new growth, remove unwanted suckers and check flowers for pest damage.

Summer

Water during dry weather and pick summer-fruiting berries as soon as they release easily from their cores.

Late summer

Cut out spent summer-fruiting canes and tie in healthy replacement canes.

Autumn

Harvest autumn-fruiting varieties and remove mouldy fruit and fallen debris.

• Train in straight, wire-supported rows along the edge of a kitchen garden for easy picking and pruning.
• Use as a productive boundary within an edible garden, leaving access on both sides.
• Grow behind low herbs and annual flowers in a potager, keeping the raspberry root zone clear.
• Plant in a sunny food-forest clearing rather than beneath dense tree shade.

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

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

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Birds and small mammals eat the fruit, and dense cane patches offer cover.

• Phytophthora root rot causes weak growth, wilting and cane death in wet soil: improve drainage, remove affected plants and avoid replanting raspberries in the same poorly drained ground.
• Cane blight causes canes to die back, often after injury: remove affected canes in dry weather, disinfect pruning tools and avoid damaging young canes.
• Raspberry beetle larvae damage fruit, especially in the UK and Europe: inspect flowers and developing berries, remove affected fruit and consider fine insect mesh before flowering where practical.
• Spotted-wing drosophila can infest ripening fruit: harvest frequently, chill berries promptly and remove all overripe or fallen fruit.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. Ripe fruit is edible; leaves and canes are not known to be poisonous, but prickles can scratch skin and mouths. Large amounts of fruit may cause digestive upset in pets.

Where it spreads. Can spread aggressively by underground suckers in gardens in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and temperate Australia. Remove shoots beyond the intended patch and avoid planting beside sensitive natural habitats.

• Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus aggregate)

  Blackberries usually have stouter, arching canes. Their ripe fruit keeps its solid central core when picked, while a raspberry leaves its core on the plant and is hollow inside.

• Black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis)

  Usually has strongly arching, whitish-coated canes and fruit that ripens black; picked fruit is hollow like a red raspberry.

• Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)

  Canes and flower coverings are densely coated in conspicuous reddish, gland-tipped hairs; the glossy red berries emerge from hairy coverings.

Rubus is the Latin name for bramble, and idaeus means 'of Mount Ida', traditionally referring to Mount Ida in Crete.

Propagation. Lift rooted suckers during dormancy or take root cuttings in winter. Use certified disease-free nursery plants when establishing a patch; do not propagate from plants showing virus symptoms or unexplained decline.

Accepted botanical name

Rubus idaeus

In the US and Canada

Native in Alaska, Canada, the lower 48 states and St. Pierre and Miquelon. Introduced in Alaska, Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alaska, Albania, Altay, Amur, Arizona, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, British Columbia, Bulgaria and Buryatiya.

Measured

Soil pH 5 to 7.5. Average height 94 cm.

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