Raspberries

Raspberries

If you're tired of paying too much for raspberries and disappointed by the lack of quality found in the grocery stores, then you may just want to plant a raspberry plant or two in your yard.

Below are some things to consider when choosing to add a raspberry to your yard. Also, you will find descriptions of many of the raspberries we carry throughout the year.

Where to Plant Raspberries

Raspberries should be planted in a sunny location. A little shade is okay. They grow great along a fence or staked with wire and posts. They can also be allowed to sprawl on their own, though staking will make it easier to harvest and manage. Raspberries can be planted in rows. You can space them about 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart. Make sure your raspberries have good drainage, because they do not want to be in wet soil.

When to Plant Raspberries

Raspberries can be planted just about anytime of the year. They are available in December through early February as bareroot plants. Many varieties are only available during this time of year. During the rest of the year, raspberries are available in 1gallon containers.

Things to Consider

Raspberries need pruning on a regular basis to ensure best production. Usually, raspberries are cut down to just a couple of inches above the ground in the fall so that the new canes can grow (berries form on new growth). If you have an everbearing variety you can trim the canes that produced fruit in the current season back just below where they fruited and then remove all of the older canes. This will give you an early crop and a late crop in the following year.

Below are descriptions of some of the raspberries that are available from time to time.

Black Raspberries

Cumberland
(Black Raspberry) Developed in Pennsylvania, Cumberland is a midseason bearer. Large, round, firm, glossy black berries that are never seedy. Excellent, sweet, rich, delicious flavor. Good quality. Excellent for freezing, jam, jellies, syrup, preserves and pies. Vigorous, strong, upright, heavily rooted plants. Cumberland is the leading variety in the Central and Northern region.

Jewel Black Raspberry
Produces compact clusters of large to very large fruit. Rich raspberry flavor. Very high quality, good for pies, preserves and fresh use. May-June harvest. Vigorous, hardy vines are the most diesease resistant of all black raspberries. Upright habit, no support required. Self-fruitful.

Munger Raspberry

Munger

(Black Raspberry) Developed in Ohio, Munger is a midseason bearer. Large, plump yet firm, shiny black berries that are not seedy. Munger has a delicious, sweet flavor that is excellent for jam, jellies, and preserves. Only satisfactory for freezing. Munger has stout canes that appear to be more resistant to Fungal Diseases than other raspberry varieties. Munger is the leading variety in the Pacific Northwest, Commercially and in the home garden. Very hardy.

Red Raspberries

Newburgh
Developed by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station and introduced in 1926. Very large, firm, very sweet, light red berries with shallow caps. Mild flavor with fairly good quality. Retains its shape well and does not crumble when being picked. A very good variety for jelly and freezing. Vigorous, heavy annual producer that is resistant to Root Rot and Mosaic Virus. Newburgh is widely adaptable and takes heavy wet soil fairly well. Also a low growing variety that doesn't need support as taller varieties.

Nova
Medium size dark red fruit. Mild flavor. Firm when ripe and very suitable for fresh market and freezing. Bears early May - June. Disease reistant, very cold hardy. Very few thorns. Self-fruitful.

Willamette
Originated in Oregon and is extensively grown in the Pacific Northwest. An extremely large berry, nearly round, dark red, very firm, and of excellent quality. Lower sugar content, rich, and slightly tart good flavor. Excellent quality for fresh eating, freezing, and canning. Holds color and shape well. The bush is vigorous, very productive, and suckers freely. Requires well drained soils and mild winters. Disease resistant. Ripens early. Willamette is one of the most popular commercial varieties in Oregon, Washington, and California.

Red Raspberries -- Everbearing Varieties

Heritage Raspberry

Heritage

Introduced from New York State at Geneva in 1969. Large, sweet, dark red berries with a mild flavor. This superior quality berry is good for fresh eating, freezing, canning, and preserves. The canes are tall for an everbearing raspberry, but are very sturdy and seldom require support. Strong, vigorous, very productive, suckers prolifically and spreads rapidly. Fairly tolerant of heavier soils but will develop Root Rot in poorly drained areas. Moderate summer crop with heavier, superior fall crop. An excellent variety for the home gardener and also grown commercially in many areas.

Amity
Developed at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in Corvallis. Large, firm, dark red berries with classic raspberry flavor and superior quality. Excellent for fesh market. Amity is good for shipping, freezing, and canning. Compared to Heritage; Amity is more resistant to Root Rot and can take somewhat heavier soils. Amity involves two crops. One on the first year growth in the Fall (beginning in late August), and again the following June on the 2 year old wood. The Fall crop will tend to be heavier if the canes are mowed, as the plant does not use any energy to ripen the Spring crop. Amity is a week or so earlier than Heritage but does not bear quite as heavily. Amity does not pick as well as Heritage because the berry sticks to the plug until quite ripe. We recommend Amity for the home gardener due to its excellent flavor.

Dinkum
Everbearing. This patented variety is from a cross made in Australia from English parent plants. The variety seems to be well adapted to the Pacific Northwest with good flavored, relatively firm fruit borne on first year canes that ripens with ‘Autumn Bliss’. For highest yields canes need to be mowed to the ground in late winter for fall fruit only the next year. For management to have continuous summer through fall berries, the canes are pruned in late winter to just below old fruit laterals and allowed to remain with Primocanes. Buds which form at the base of the canes will start blooming in April or May for June and July berries.

Caroline
U.S. Plant Patent #10412. Uniquely flavored, large, firm, and cohesive fruit. Long conical shape berry that fruits earlier than Heritage. Observations from the developing plant breeders show that Caroline responds to warmer temperatures with earlier fruiting. Caroline suckers easily. It is more tolerant to root rot and yellow rust than Heritage. Plants are very productive and produce fruit over a long period.

Yellow Raspberries

Fall Gold Raspberry

Fall Gold
Large, conical, non-crumbling, very sweet, somewhat soft, golden berries. Excellent for processing and fresh eating. Canes are vigorous, productive, and adaptable to a wide variety of soils. Not recommended for extreme northern areas. First crop ripens in July. Second crop from late August until frost. Hardy to -25 degrees F.