A handful of raspberries picked in your own garden is difficult to beat. The fruits are soft, sweet and expensive to buy, yet established canes can provide generous crops for several years. Raspberries are also productive in places where you can't give over a huge area to vegetables. The most important thing is choosing between summer- and autumn-fruiting varieties, because their pruning is different.
Summer-fruiting versus autumn-fruiting raspberries
Summer-fruiting raspberries generally bear fruit on canes that grew the previous year. Those fruiting canes are called floricanes. After harvest, you remove the old canes and keep selected fresh shoots for next year's crop.
Autumn-fruiting varieties commonly produce fruit on canes formed during the current growing season. In a conventional single-crop system, you cut all their canes to ground level during late winter. Applying that treatment to summer raspberries would remove the next season's crop.
Buy clearly labelled plants and keep the label. If you grow both types, place them in separate rows so you don't accidentally prune them together.
Where do raspberry plants grow best?
Choose a sunny position with fertile, well-drained soil. Raspberries can tolerate some light shade, but full sun helps fruit ripen and gives a sweeter, heavier harvest. They dislike ground that remains waterlogged over winter.
Shelter from persistent strong winds is useful, especially for tall summer-fruiting varieties. Avoid sites previously affected by serious raspberry root diseases and remove persistent weeds before planting.
A single row is easier to maintain than a wide, tangled patch. Leave enough space to reach fruit from both sides without trampling the soil and damaging the shallow root system.
When to plant raspberry canes
Dormant bare-root canes are commonly planted from late autumn until early spring, provided the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged. Potted plants are available during other parts of the year, but need careful watering when planted in active growth.
Check new canes on arrival. Roots should be healthy and protected from drying out, while stems should not have extensive damage. A small bare-root cane may look unimpressive, but it can establish quickly in suitable conditions.
If the ground is too wet to work, temporarily heel bare-root plants into suitable compost or follow the supplier's storage advice. Don't leave the roots exposed on a greenhouse shelf.
How to plant raspberries
Prepare a planting strip by removing weeds and loosening the soil. Improve poor soil with well-rotted organic matter. Spread the roots in a hole or shallow trench without cramming them into a tight circle.
The RHS recommends planting canes about 40–60cm apart, with spacing adjusted for the variety. Keep the first roots no more than 5cm below the surface, backfill, firm gently and water well. Most new dormant canes are cut to about 25cm after planting, but don't cut back long-cane summer raspberries sold to fruit in their first season.
Raspberries naturally make new shoots from below ground. Planting far too close together creates overcrowding that encourages disease and makes fruit difficult to find.
Mulch the soil surface with compost or another suitable organic material, leaving stems clear. This helps reduce weeds and preserve moisture.
Do raspberries need a support?
Many summer raspberries need wires stretched between firm posts to keep tall canes upright. Put the framework in before the row is full of plants. Two or three horizontal wires at suitable heights make tying in easier.
Autumn-fruiting raspberries are often shorter, but productive canes may still bend under the weight of fruit. A simple post-and-string enclosure can keep them off the ground without individually tying every stem.
Use soft ties and check them as the canes expand. Damaging the skin of a cane creates opportunities for disease. A strong support should hold up through rain and autumn wind, not just on a calm planting day.
Watering and feeding through summer
New canes need regular water as their roots establish. Established raspberries benefit from deep watering during dry spells, especially during flowering and fruit swelling. Drought stress can produce undersized berries.
Aim water towards the soil and avoid repeated wetting of ripe fruit. A mulch helps prevent the root area from drying out quickly and suppresses competing weeds.
Feed in spring if required, using an appropriate fertiliser at the rate on its label. Well-maintained, fertile ground often needs less added fertiliser than a depleted container. Too much feeding can cause soft, overly vigorous growth.
Can raspberries grow in containers?
Compact autumn-fruiting varieties are often the best choice for a large patio container. Choose a pot with generous root space, drainage holes and a stable base. Ordinary vigorous summer varieties may outgrow their container or require tall, awkward supports.
Use peat-free soil-based compost and check moisture frequently in warm weather. A heavily cropped container can dry faster than the same plant in the ground.
Pot-grown canes need feeding as nutrients become depleted, and eventually require fresh compost or division. Don't assume a raspberry can remain indefinitely in the same small pot without losing vigour.
How to prune summer-fruiting raspberries
Once the harvest ends, identify the older canes that have carried fruit. Cut these to ground level and remove them. Keep the strongest new green canes that grew that season, thinning out weak or badly positioned shoots.
Tie the retained canes along the support wires and remove unwanted suckers outside the intended row. Those healthy new canes will produce the following summer's berries.
If you're unsure which canes fruited, look for remnants of fruit clusters on older stems. Work carefully so you don't remove all the replacements along with the spent growth.
How to prune autumn-fruiting raspberries
For a straightforward autumn crop, cut all canes to ground level in late winter before the new shoots begin growing strongly. In spring, fresh stems emerge and develop the season's crop.
This makes autumn varieties attractive for beginners. You don't have to distinguish old fruiting wood from new replacement canes as you do with summer types.
Keep the row reasonably narrow and remove unwanted suckers that spread into paths. A thick mass of stems can reduce air movement and make harvesting harder.
When and how to pick raspberries
Pick berries when they have developed their mature colour and release easily from the central core. A ripe raspberry should slip off with a gentle pull; fruit that needs force is probably not ready.
Harvest regularly during productive spells, ideally in dry weather. Place berries into shallow containers because they bruise and collapse under heavy layers.
Refrigerate fruit promptly if not eating it straight away. Raspberries have a short shelf life, so freezing a surplus is often more useful than leaving bowls of ripe fruit on the kitchen counter.
Why is the crop disappointing?
Lots of canes, few berries: Check whether the wrong canes were removed during pruning, whether plants receive enough sunshine and whether flowering was affected by bad weather.
Berries dry or crumble: Drought, poor pollination or pest damage may be involved. Inspect berries and soil moisture.
Canes die suddenly: Root diseases, cane blight or damaged stems are possibilities. Investigate rather than repeatedly fertilising.
Fruit disappears: Birds can take ripe raspberries quickly. Use a properly secured fruit cage or wildlife-safe protection where necessary.
Planning for a longer harvest
A row of summer raspberries and a second row of autumn types can produce fruit over an extended period. Label both clearly, support the taller canes and prune each group in its own season.
Once established, raspberries reward a small amount of regular maintenance far better than occasional drastic attention.
Source
Royal Horticultural Society: How to grow raspberries.