Raspberry
Summer Raspberry, Autumn Raspberry, Red Raspberry, Golden Raspberry, American Red Raspberry, Common Red Raspberry
Plant bare-root canes in early spring. Tie to wire trellis; summer raspberries fruit on second-year canes (primocanes). After harvest, cut all fruited canes to ground; let new canes grow for next year's crop. Autumn/primocane varieties fruit on current-year growth — mow all canes to the ground each winter for simplicity. Rich, slightly acidic soil is ideal. Mulch heavily to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
- Spacing
- 45–60 cm
When to plant raspberry
Plant 2–6 weeks before your last spring frost.
Dashed line: typical last spring frost in zone 7 (Apr 5). Zone dates are averages; most of the UK is zone 8–9, central Europe 6–7 and the Baltics and Scandinavia 4–6. In the app, Tomatograph uses your garden's own frost dates.
How to grow raspberry
- 1
Plant canes
Plant dormant bare-root canes in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, 45 cm apart along a wire support.
- 2
Know your type
Summer raspberries fruit on last year's canes. Autumn raspberries fruit on the current year's growth.
- 3
Prune
For summer types, cut fruited canes to the ground after harvest and tie in the new ones. For autumn types, cut all canes to the ground in late winter.
- 4
Harvest
The first good crop comes the year after planting. Pick when berries pull away easily from the core.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun
Water
Medium water
Temperature
-25–30 °C
Frost tolerance
Frost-hardy — tolerates frost
Days to maturity
365–730 days
Ideal soil pH
5–7.5
How Tomatograph watches your raspberry
Tomatograph checks your local forecast every morning and only speaks up when one of these applies to your garden.
- First frost within 14 daysReminder to mulch the roots before winter.
- 3 days at 35 °C or aboveHeat-wave alert while plants are flowering or fruiting: shade and water early.
- Humidity above 80% for 48 hoursCheck for cane blight, which thrives in those conditions.
- Within a week of maturityHarvest-window reminder based on when you planted.
Raspberry questions
- When should I plant raspberry?
- Plant 2–6 weeks before your last spring frost.
- How far apart should I plant raspberry?
- Allow 45–60 cm between plants.
- What grows well with raspberry?
- Good neighbours include garlic, chives, marigold, yarrow.
Growing guide written by Tomatograph. Planting figures from openplantdb (CC0 1.0). Zone frost dates are averages from openplantdb (CC0 1.0).