Raspberry: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you plant a raspberry bush?
Plant raspberries in a sunny, sheltered spot with fertile, well-drained soil. Plant bare-root stock during dormancy, from late autumn to early spring, avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground. Add well-rotted compost if the soil is poor.
Put supports in place before planting. Space plants about 40–60 cm apart and rows 1.5–2 m apart, depending on the variety. Spread the roots without breaking them and avoid planting too deeply: use the previous soil mark or pot level as a guide. Backfill and water without leaving standing water.
Mulch while keeping the canes clear. Follow the supplier's instructions for pruning at planting: do not routinely cut back long canes of summer-fruiting varieties sold to crop in their first season, as you would remove that harvest. Monitor moisture while the plants establish.
How do you prune raspberries according to their type?
Identify your raspberry type before pruning. Summer-fruiting varieties crop on the previous year's canes: after harvesting, cut these canes to ground level and keep strong young canes for next year's crop. Thin out weak or crowded shoots and train the retained canes onto supports.
Autumn-fruiting varieties crop on the current year's canes. For a single autumn harvest, cut all canes to ground level in late winter, before growth resumes. New canes will bear fruit that same year.
For a double crop on an established, vigorous autumn-fruiting plant, retain a few strong canes in late winter, removing only the upper part that has fruited. After their summer crop, cut them to ground level and keep the new canes for autumn. At planting, follow the supplier's instructions: do not cut back long summer-fruiting canes sold to crop in their first season.
How to care for this plant
-
Maintain the mulch
When spring returns, remove weeds around the plant and top up thinning mulch. Leave a clear gap against the stems and avoid digging near the shallow roots.
How and when do you harvest raspberries?
Harvest timing depends on the variety and climate. Summer-fruiting raspberries crop in summer; autumn-fruiting varieties can crop from late summer into autumn. Do not restrict every harvest to July and August.
Pick ripe fruit regularly when it comes away easily without force. Handle it gently and place it in a shallow container to avoid crushing it. Discard mouldy or damaged berries.
Eat raspberries promptly or keep them briefly in the fridge. To freeze them, spread sound berries in a single layer on a tray; once frozen, transfer them to a suitable box or bag. Freezing extends storage but does not make spoiled fruit fit to eat.
Colour varies with the variety: a ripe yellow raspberry will not turn red. Easy release is therefore a useful guide. Look beneath the leaves without pulling on the branches, then place each berry straight into its final container. Avoid transferring the harvest repeatedly between bowls. If a berry resists, leave it on the plant and check again later.
Raspberry
- Type : Fruit trees
- Botanical Family : Rosaceae
Characteristics
- Exposure : Partial Shade
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 150 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
- Plant Spacing : 80 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Cutting