Raspberry

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus and related species) is a perennial cane fruit in the rose family. The plant has a permanent root system that sends up biennial canes; most types fruit on second-year canes, while autumn (primocane) varieties fruit on first-year growth.

The berry is an aggregate of many tiny drupelets that detach from a central core (the receptacle) when ripe, leaving the characteristic hollow center.

Vigorous and quick to spread, raspberries are a productive backyard plant, available in red, yellow, purple and black-fruited forms.

• Habit: Upright to arching canes, typically 1-2 m (3-6 ft), forming spreading thickets
• Canes: Biennial, usually prickly, green in year one, woody in year two
• Leaves: Compound with 3-5 toothed leaflets, green above and pale or whitish beneath
• Flowers: Small, white, five-petalled, in clusters
• Fruit: Aggregate berry of soft drupelets that pulls free of its core, leaving a hollow cup

Light: Full sun for the best yields; tolerates light shade.

Water: Keep evenly moist, especially as fruit forms; mulch to retain moisture.

Soil: Fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil rich in organic matter; dislikes waterlogging.

Temperature: Hardy and needs winter chill; well suited to cool-temperate climates.

Feeding: Mulch with compost and feed in spring.

Propagation: Spreads readily by suckers, which can be dug and replanted. Pruning differs by type: summer-fruiting canes are cut after fruiting, while autumn types can be cut to the ground in late winter.

The red raspberry is native to Europe and northern Asia, growing wild along woodland edges, clearings and hillsides; closely related species are native to North America.

It has been gathered and cultivated for centuries and is now grown commercially and in gardens throughout cool-temperate regions worldwide, with major production in Eastern Europe, Russia and North America.