Growing raspberries

Growing raspberries in your garden is easy and can bring indefinite fruits to your table once it is properly cared for. You should know the variety suitable for you before growing raspberries.

There are two types of raspberries: summer-bearers bear one crop per season, in summertime. Ever-bearers bear two crops, one in summer and one in fall. The latter is ideal for growing in containers on the patio as they don’t need supporting. They are also great for beginner gardeners as the pruning is very simple.

Once you have decided which type of raspberry to grow, plant it in the early spring on a fertile, well-drained soil. Choose a sunny spot for your raspberry, although shading is tolerated but likely to produce lesser fruits than those grown under full sun.

Here are the other requirements in growing raspberries:

A couple of weeks before planting, you should prepare the soil by adding aged manure or compost.
Space plants about 3 feet apart, in rows 8 feet apart. Plant far from wild growing berries to prevent the spread of pests and diseases to your garden.
Try soaking the roots for an hour or two before planting as raspberries love moisture.
Summer-fruiting raspberries will need supporting by a fence, wall or other type of framework as they can grow to 1.5m tall. Autumn-fruiting raspberries are normally fine without a support. Establish you support system on the time of planting to avoid disturbing the plant as it matures.
After planting, cut back the canes of your raspberry plant leaving 8 to 10 inches.
Water your raspberry regularly with one inch per week and mulch around the plant to conserve moisture and keep weeds away.
Nourish your raspberries regularly with a high potassium fertilizer throughout the growing season to encourage lots of fruit.
Prune in the fall. Leave about 6 of the thickest, strongest green canes and cut off all canes that grow sideways. Take note that ever-bearers require less care and pruning is not required for this type in its growing season.
Most varieties will begin to produce fruit in their second season. Berries will ripen over a time of about 2 weeks in the early summer. You will need to pick berries every couple of days and keep bumper crops in the refrigerator where they can stay fresh for up to 5 days.

Summer vs autumn raspberries — and why pruning differs

Getting the pruning right depends entirely on the type, because the two fruit on different wood:

Summer-fruiting raspberries fruit on canes grown the previous year (floricanes). After they finish cropping, cut the old fruited canes right down to the ground and keep this year’s strong new green canes tied in for next summer.
Autumn-fruiting (ever-bearing) raspberries fruit on the current season’s canes (primocanes). Pruning is far simpler: cut every cane to the ground in late winter, and the plant fruits on fresh canes the same year.

Mixing the two pruning methods up is the commonest reason a raspberry patch crops poorly, so identify your type first.

Support and spacing

Tall summer-fruiting canes (to about 1.5 m) need support — a post-and-wire system or a fence keeps them upright and the fruit clean. Autumn types are shorter and usually manage without. Space plants about 45 cm (18 in) apart in rows, and set the supports up at planting time to avoid disturbing the roots later.

Feeding, watering and mulching

Raspberries love moisture and a rich soil. Water regularly — about 2.5 cm (1 in) a week — especially as the fruit swells, and mulch to lock in moisture and suppress weeds. Feed with a high-potassium fertiliser through the growing season for a heavy crop.

Propagating raspberries

Red and yellow raspberries spread by underground suckers — simply lift rooted suckers in the dormant season and replant them. Black and purple raspberries are increased instead by tip layering: bury the arching cane tip in soil in late summer and it roots to make a new plant.

Black, purple and golden raspberries

Beyond the familiar red, there are yellow/golden types (mild and sweet), black raspberries (intense flavour, grow from tip layers and do not sucker widely) and purple hybrids between the two. They share the same general care but differ in propagation and in how vigorously they spread.

Common problems

Net against birds as fruit ripens. Watch for raspberry beetle (grubs in the fruit), cane blight and spur blight (dying canes/spots) and cane borers. Buy certified virus-free stock and avoid planting near wild brambles, which harbour pest and virus problems.