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Growing Raspberries
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Raspberries
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Raspberries
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Raspberries are relatively easy to grow and can bear fruit indefinitely with proper care. Here’s how to grow raspberries in your garden—from planting to harvest!
There are two types of raspberries, both with their own specific requirements for growing:
- Summer-fruiting raspberries bear one crop per season, in summertime (often June or July).
- Ever-bearing raspberries (also called fall-bearing or primocane-fruiting) bear a fall crop and can also produce fruit the following summer.
Most raspberries are summer-bearing varieties and all are self-fertile, meaning you’ll get fruit with only one variety. They’re best pollinated by bees, and will start producing fruit a year after planting.
Though raspberry bushes are naturally inclined to grow in cooler climates, the plants now come in many varieties suited to a range of planting zones.
All raspberries will need pruning annually! Raspberries are perennials, however it’s important to realize that their branches (or canes) which bear the fruit live for only two summers. During the first year, the new green cane (primocane) grows vegetatively. The cane develops a brown bark, is dormant in winter, and during the second growing season is called a floricane. The floricane produces fruit in early to mid summer and then dies. New primocanes are produced each year, so fruit production continues year after year. It’s your job to prune out those dead canes each year.
Planting
When to Plant Raspberries
- Raspberry plants can be purchased as dormant, bare-root plants or as potted plants. Plant bare-root transplants in the early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Plant potted transplants in the spring after threat of frost has passed. (See your local frost dates.)
How to Plant Raspberries
- Pick a site with full sun to produce the most fruit. The plant will grow in part shade, but harvests will be meager.
- Your site needs rich and well-drained soil, great air circulation, and shelter from wind. Avoid a wet area, as well as a windy spot, as raspberries do not like to stand in water nor dry out.
- Prepare soil with a couple inches of compost or aged manure a couple weeks before planting. (A good rate is about 3 ½ cubic feet of compost per 100 square feet.) Till the soil well before planting.
- Plant far from wild growing berries, otherwise risk the spread of pests and diseases to your garden.
- Before planting, soak the roots for an hour or two.
- Dig a hole that is roomy enough for the roots to spread.
- Whether you’re planting bare-root or potted plants, keep the crown of the plant 1 or 2 inches above the ground.
- Space red and yellow raspberry plants from 2 to 3 feet apart, in rows 8 feet apart. Space black and purple types 4 feet apart.
- Depending on the variety you plant, you may need to fashion a support. A trellis or a fence are good options. If you chose to use one of these, establish them at or before time of planting so the plants are not disturbed when maturing.
Care
How to Care for Raspberries
- Mulching is important throughout the season to conserve moisture and suffocate weeds. Keep a thick layer of mulch surrounding plants at all times.
- Water one inch per week from spring until after harvest. Regular watering is better than infrequent deep soaking.
- The roots send up an abundant amount of shoots, called canes. Keep order by pruning away the majority of them, so that the survivors can produce lots of berries.
How to Prune Raspberries
Summer-Bearers produce berries on two year old canes while one year old canes grow right beside them. You shouldn’t have trouble telling which is which: the older canes have brown stems, and the young ones are still green. Prune only the older ones, the ones that have finished their fruitful year.
- Red raspberries: Prune any time after the last harvest and before growth begins in the spring. Cut all canes that produced fruit to the ground. Thin to 6 sturdy canes per hill (per foot of row). In areas where winter injury is common, you may delay thinning the primocanes (new growth) until the following spring, when you will be able to tell which canes have survived. Before growth starts in spring, cut the canes to about 12 inches above the support. Don’t cut back more than 25% of each cane, to avoid reducing yield.
- Black and purple raspberries: When primocanes are between 24 to 30 inches in height, pinch out the tip of each shoot to induce branching. This will make the fruit easier to pick and increase production. After harvest, cut down all canes that bore fruit to ground level. Before growth begins the following spring, cut back all side branches so they are 12 to 18 inches long. Select 6 canes per hill, and prune out the rest. Tie these canes to the support system.
Ever-bearing or fall-bearing raspberries
- This is easy. Just cut all canes to the ground any time after harvest and before growth begins in the spring. They give fruit on canes which are in their first year of growth, after which there is no reason to keep them. Mow them to the ground or use pruning shears for a small patch.
- Clean up all debris—diseases and pests overwinter.
- Pruning is not required during the growing season unless you want to keep a uniform order.
Note: The above assumes you are harvesting a fall crop. To get both fall and following summer crop, do not remove the primocanes that produced the fall crop. Prune them back in spring to about 12 inches above the support, or to the last visible node that had fruit, cutting off the dead tips.
Pests/Diseases
Raspberries are one of the few fruits that are hardly bothered by pests and diseases. (Black raspberries are more susceptible to this type of damage than red or purple.)
- Keep an eye out for spider mites and Japanese beetles from June through August.
- Rabbits love to eat the canes in winter. A chicken wire fence will help prevent rabbit damage.
- Powdery Mildew
- Cane Borers
Harvest/Storage
How to Harvest and Store Raspberries
- All varieties will begin to produce fruit in their second season. In some cases, ever-bearers may bear small berries in their first autumn.
- In early summer, berries will ripen over a time of about 2 weeks. You will need to pick berries every couple of days.
- Try to harvest berries on a sunny day, when they are dry.
- Don’t tug too hard on your raspberries when picking. A ripe raspberry will leave the vine willingly.
- Raspberries can be kept refrigerated for about 5 days.
- If possible, don’t wash the berries after picking, unless you’re going to eat them straight away. They will grow moldy and mushy if not kept dry in storage. If you do need to wash them, let them air dry completely before storing.
- If the fruit is to be made into preserves, it should be done straight off the plant.
- Raspberries can be frozen. As with freezing blueberries, make a single layer of berries on a cookie sheet. When frozen, place into airtight bags.
Recommended Varieties
There are many, many raspberry varieties available today—and each one is unique! Here are a few to get you started. Ask your local garden center or cooperative extension service which raspberry varieties are best-suited for your area.
- ‘Canby’: red berries; summer-bearing; nearly thornless; recommended for New England, Upper Great Lakes, and Northwest
- ‘Heritage’: red berries; ever-bearing; recommended for the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley
- ‘Plainsman’: red berries; ever-bearing; does well in higher altitudes (the Rockies and High Plains)
- ‘Fallgold’: yellow berries; ever-bearing; recommended for the Upper Midwest and Canada
- ‘Double Gold’: yellow berries tinged with peach; ever-bearing; better for warmer areas, as the fall crop can be quite late
- ‘Royalty’: purple berries; summer-bearing; better for warmer areas
- ‘Jewel’: black berries; summer-bearing; disease-resistant and great for warmer areas
- ‘Black Hawk’: black berries; summer-bearing; heat and drought tolerant
Tired of raspberries? Try your hand at growing blackberries or blueberries instead!
Wit & Wisdom
- Raspberries are a great source of dietary fiber and Vitamin C and they may help to protect against disease. Check out Raspberries: Health Benefits to learn how healthy raspberries really are!
Recipes
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Reader Comments
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raspberries
Hello,
My raspberries are 2 yrs old, there was a lot of fruit on the vines but it never matured it turned brown and dried up. The foliage is green and healthy. Can you help me.
Raspberries Drying Up
Dry, crumbly berries can result from a number of things, including disease, pests, soil nutrition, poor pollination, and water-related issues.
Since you say the leaves look healthy otherwise, it’s likely a problem with pollination or water. Has it been particularly dry in your area? Once raspberries start producing, they need consistent water to produce healthy, full berries—dry conditions will cause the berries to shrivel. On the other hand, if the raspberry plant is kept too wet, it can cause root rot, which also results in poor berries. Make sure your plants are in a place that gets consistent water during the berry season, but where the soil drains well, too.
As for pollination, keep an eye out for bees and their kin to make sure that the plant is getting enough attention. Perhaps add a native bee house to encourage to move into the neighborhood?
rasberries
my raspberries are getting silver leaves on them that seem to dry up and die. What would be the cause of that.
silver tarnish
That sounds like powdery mildew, a common hazard with raspberries. See here https://www.almanac.com/pest/powdery-mildew
New raspberry bush owners
A customer at work bought a house with a lot of raspberry bushes, and decided to give some away. We took one, and planed it in a mostly sunny spot, and water it regularly. We live in Minnesota, so planed it in the spring after the first frost. Gave it room for its roots to grow, and it seems to be doing great. It just started flowering, and I know it probably won’t produce any fruit this year, but my question is, how do we tell what kind it is. The friend who bought the house with the berries already there didn’t know. It has brown canes, and little purple flowers. I am only asking, because of the pruning differences in each type of bush. How someone can help. Super excited to eat some yummy berries next year... hopefully!
how to tell the variety
It’s hard to tell, actually. But try this: After fruiting, remove all canes that produced fruit, be it a summer, or fall bearing variety. For summer-bearing varieties you will do it late in the summer, for fall bearing the best time to do it is in the late winter or in very early spring before the buds start swelling. Or just do this: cut down all canes late in the winter or very early in the spring, then wait to see what happens next year. If you have a summer-bearing variety you will not have fruit next year at all, but at least you will know what you have.
raspberries
I lifted raspberry autumn fruiting raspberries from another area in our garden and cut them down to two inches above ground in early spring.
the canes have multiplied 10-fold but are bearing no fruit at all. They had a very good mulching after pruning too. What have I done wrong?
Raspberries
Last summer I moved into a house with a large raspberry bush. This past month, the plant produced large black berries. At the same time, it also put out a number of long canes around the plant. Are these suckers that need to be pruned out or will they produce in the future?
Raspberry Growth
Most raspberries produce fruit on second-year canes (called “floricanes”) rather than first-year canes (called “primocanes”). The new canes that you see around your plant right now are primocanes, but next year they will have matured to floricanes and will produce fruit, so they should be left alone.
Raspberries
Is their a raspberry that has a stronger flavor or is there something I can feed the raspberries to improve their flavor. Year after year I have an abundant crop but with little flavor and it is very discouraging.
Raspberries
I would try another type; one which emphasizes sweeter taste;;
Patio raspberries
I bought a raspberry plant at our hardware store that was supposed to be a “patio plant” This has been planted in a good sized pot and is now growing respectably well. I know it will be a year or two before I get any berries. How do I treat this pot for the winter? Can it stay outside or do I need to get it in the garage(unheated).
caring for container raspberries
Hi, Jane. If you live in an area where winter is harsh you can move the raspberry pots to an unheated garage. Water the raspberries just enough to keep them alive. If you leave the pot outside, add mulch for protection over the winter.
Dying Raspberries
I bought a few bare root raspberries over the winter. They arrived before the final frost, so I planted them in pots and kept them indoors. After the last frost I moved them out side and transitioned them over about 10 days in to the sun light. After they sprouted I planted them.
Since they have been in the ground the leaves have all withered and fallen off. What can I do to save them? Is it possible to move them again, or would they be too fragile to survive a relocation?
Thanks,
Rachel
Transplanted Raspberries
It’s not uncommon for raspberries to lose their leaves after being transplanted—they’re just in shock from the move. Just keep them from drying out during the summer months and they should come back without issue next spring. They’ll spend this year putting down roots and getting established.
raspberries/everberring
seems the last 2 years,the roots are lifting above ground
Moving yellow berries
My neighbor is going to remove several tractor tires full of ( we think) fall gold yellow raspberries. Hundreds of plants. Can the plants be root dried and stored for the winter and if so, how?? Then planted in the spring? They are dormant at this point and need to be moved soon. Can they be replanted this late in the year? Thanks, Dave
Transplanting Raspberries in the Fall
Spring is the best time to transplant raspberries, but transplanting can also be done in the fall to a lesser degree of success, depending on your climate. Know that plants that are transplanted in the fall may take longer to become established and bear fruit. Leave as much dirt on the roots as possible to avoid shocking the plant. After transplanting, cut the canes down to a length of approximately 8 to 10 inches. You may want to put down a layer (1–2 inches) of mulch around the plants to give them some extra winter protection, too.
Your other option is to store them bare-root for the winter, though we can’t say for certain how much success you would see using this method. You will want to dig them up, brush off any dirt from the roots, and place them in a slightly moist, loose material, such as mulch or sawdust. Store them in a cool place, like a cellar, where it won’t get below freezing nor above 50°F. Try not to let them dry out completely during winter. In early spring, they can be planted outside.
If you have a large number of plants, you may wish to try both methods. Let us know how it goes!
raspberry fall transplant
I transplanted about 100 plants in mid-October and this spring they appear to have a near 100% survival. I dug them in small groups and kept as much original dirt on the plants as possible. I have about 75 more roots that I washed and put in sawdust, then shipped to the UP. They will go in the ground when it warms up, I am curious to see how they do also.
Raspberries
We just bought a hobby farm, it has a HUGE area of raspberries, I didn't get any fruit from them this summer.
How do I take care of them? Should I mow them all down and start fresh. They are probably 20 feet wide.
Why raspberries did not fruit
Is there any chance you can ask the former owner which type these are?? Read the advice about pruning above. We would not advise cutting/mowing the canes down because if they are summer bearers, they could be abundant with fruit next year (see above), and if they are ever- or fall-bearing, they may have been cut last year. We would wait until spring to see what happens.
Also read the other comments about fruiting/not fruiting below.
Planting from a container
When we moved, our friends gave us three raspberry plants in a container, and I would like to plant them on our property. Two canes have gotten leaves; one is just a stick. My questions: should I plant all three, or is the one that didn't grow leaves a lost cause? Is it okay to plant them now (August/September)? Do I prune them when they are so new and haven't had any fruit yet? And, finally, will they survive our Philadelphia snow this winter? Thanks for any insight you can provide! I'd love to make this work.
LOVIN' IT!!!!!
Just to say I found you by chance and have really enjoyed your articles and letters!!!! When I was young we had an excellent raspberry patch....and am just starting one now!!!!! I will follow all advice and post when I have something useful to say! When I was young the raspberries just took over.........am hoping mine will do the same. Please keep the advice coming ...I NEED IT!!!!!!!!
Raspberries dieing out
First time ever since I have had raspberry bushes. Seem like they all dried out for some reason. No insects whatso ever. I prunned them this spring just don't understand why this is happening. We love our raspberries.
dried out raspberry patch
Our first best guess, Gladys, is the soil. Is if sufficiently organic, composted, and rich?? See specifics above. And did the canes get sufficient water? (How much? hard to measure—maybe an inch a week.) If the soil is properly prepared it will hold moisture better than poor soil, even it you do not water and it does not rain.
You say you see no bugs o your plants…that’s good but if your canes are dried up and wilting, it could be verticillium wilt, caused by a soilborne fungus. You might have introduced the fungus into the soil with the plants… it’s possible and difficult to confirm. If that’s the case, it might be best—if possible—to start the patch elsewhere, with proper soil and disease-free stock.
Wish we had better news!
How long does a raspberry patch last
My raspberries continue to do well. I believe I have had them for 30 years. Recently I heard that most raspberry patches last only 15 -20 years. Should I be giving starts to friends who would like to start their own backyard raspberries?
giving away plants
You must be doing everything right, Neil! You could certainly thin out your raspberry patch by giving some away. Raspberries spread by runners, so lift them with plenty of root. And remember, it would take while for one to be many, so maybe give friends a few person.
How long does raspberry patch last? And how to prepaid my terri.
What is best way to prep air my soil for raspberries.
Winter die back
We bought a house in CO (elevation 7,000ft) that had neglected fruit trees and a raspberry plant. We were only able to save a few of the trees, and the raspberry died back to the ground last winter. It is sprouting many leaves, and I hope to care for it so it can produce fruit next year. Can I cover it with a mound of straw or something this winter to protect it from the severe cold? I have no idea what type it is.
Raspberry Canes
Hi Tracy,
Congratulations on your new house! It wouldn’t hurt to mound straw, mulch, or compost around the base of the plant. However, it may be going through it’s natural life cycle: Raspberry plants are biennials. Raspberry plants grow in long canes, growing during the first year and producing fruit during the second. After the two years, they die, leaving their seeded fruit or runners to continue the cycle. Your plant may be in its second year of life.
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