Growing Raspberries: Planting, Pruning & Care Guide

Growing raspberries is one of the most rewarding ways to go from bare soil to a proper harvest. Sweet and just sharp enough, still warm from the sun, the reward of growing raspberries is an absolute delight.

Whether you’ve got a dedicated fruit plot or a border with a bit of spare space, here’s everything you need to know to keep your canes cropping year after year.

With so many varieties available, it’s worth thinking about what you actually want from your raspberry bed before you buy. Cropping season is the obvious starting point: summer varieties give you that classic July harvest and autumn types keep you picking well into October (and sometimes beyond).

Apart from that, it comes down to the size of the fruit, disease resistance and cropping potential. Here’s a full breakdown of the varieties we offer.

All of our patio varieties are well suited to container growing. A single plant will initially grow happily in a 30cm (12in) pot, but should be repotted regularly in to something slightly larger to refresh the compost and avoid overcrowding. Use a loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3, and repot every other year, replacing around a quarter of the compost with fresh. Regular feeding through spring and early summer with a balanced liquid feed keeps container-grown raspberries producing well.

Black Jewel is worth a special mention. It’s a black raspberry, so an entirely different fruit in character. The berries are smaller and deeper in flavour, with a rich, almost winey intensity that makes them remarkable when eaten fresh and outstanding in baking and preserves. The canes are more arching in habit than standard raspberries, and the flavour is unlike anything else in the fruit garden. If you want to grow something a little out of the ordinary, Black Jewel is a brilliant choice.

Autumn Passion is another variety worth a mention for something out of the ordinary. It’s a purple raspberry, a cross between red and black types, and the colour is matched by a deep, robust flavour that’s more intense than a standard red raspberry. It fruits later in the season on primocanes, so it’s a good way to extend the raspberry harvest into autumn. Autumn Passion is well worth trying if you want to add some variety to the fruit garden.

Raspberry ‘All Gold’, a yellow-fruited autumn variety, deserves a mention too. It produces sweet, mild berries with less sharpness than most red types. The colour alone makes it a talking point, and the flavour is sweet enough to win over anyone who finds standard raspberries a little tart. The same is true of Goodasgold® and Orangelina®, both golden-fruited varieties bred for patio growing. If you’re drawn to something a little unexpected, any of the above are worth considering.

Getting the timing right when growing raspberries gives your canes the best possible start. Bare-root canes should go in during the dormant season, between November and March, so long as the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged.

Container-grown plants offer more flexibility. You can plant these at almost any point in the year. They are particularly useful for gardeners that have not previously had success with bare-root canes because of conditions such as heavy, wet soil.

Before you settle on a spot, there’s one thing worth knowing: raspberries shouldn’t be planted where raspberries or other Rubus plants (such as blackberries) have grown before. A previous crop can leave dormant replant disease in the soil, which suppresses growth and can remain viable for up to 30 years. It’s a detail that’s easy to overlook, but choosing a fresh patch of ground really does make a difference.

Once you’ve found your spot, improve the soil with a thorough dig and work in some well-rotted compost or manure before planting. Plant bare-root canes roughly 45cm (18in) apart in rows, with 1.5m (4ft) between rows if you’re planting more than one row. Set them at the same depth they were growing before: you can usually spot the soil mark on the cane. Before planting, apply rootgrow™ mycorrhizal fungi directly to the roots. It’s a small step that makes a real difference: the mycorrhizal fungi extend the root system far beyond what the plant could manage alone, drawing in water and nutrients from a much larger volume of soil.

📝

Raspberries have a clear preference: slightly acidic, free-draining soil with plenty of organic matter. Aim for a pH of around 6.0 to 6.7. If your soil is neutral or alkaline, working in well-rotted compost or leafmould before planting will nudge the acidity in the right direction and improve structure at the same time.

Heavy clay is workable but needs attention. Raspberries don’t sit well in waterlogged ground, so improving drainage is the priority. Raised beds are a straightforward solution here, and they make it easier to control growing conditions from the start.

Sandy soil drains freely but doesn’t hold nutrients or moisture particularly well. Again, organic matter is your friend: it improves water retention and keeps the soil open and lively.

Whatever your soil type, mulching around the base of your plants each spring makes a real difference. A layer of well-rotted compost or bark chippings holds moisture, suppresses weeds, and keeps feeding the soil over time: just keep the mulch away from the canes themselves to let air circulate at the base.

Get the soil right, and everything else becomes easier. With that foundation in place, it’s time to think about pruning.

Pruning is where many gardeners feel a little uncertain, but once you understand the difference between summer and autumn varieties, it becomes straightforward. When it comes to pruning raspberries, the key is knowing which type you’re growing, because the timing and approach are quite different.

Summer varieties produce fruit on canes that grew the previous year. Once those canes have fruited, their job is done. Cut all the canes that carried fruit right down to ground level in late summer, usually July or August, straight after harvesting. This clears the way for this year’s fresh, unfruited canes, which you tie into the support wires. These are the ones that will carry next year’s crop.

Aim to leave around six to eight of the strongest new canes per plant, spacing them evenly along the wires. Anything thin or overcrowded can come out.

Autumn-fruiting varieties follow a simpler rhythm. They produce fruit on the new cane, which means the pruning approach is more straightforward. Cut all canes down to ground level in late February or early March: before new growth starts. Every cane. The whole lot. This applies to all autumn fruiting varieties.

New canes will push up through spring, fruit in late summer and autumn, and the cycle begins again. It’s one of those garden jobs that takes twenty minutes and pays you back all season.

What Happens if You Prune Autumn Raspberries Too Late?

If new growth has already started before you prune, don’t worry. Remove the old canes carefully, doing your best not to damage the emerging shoots. A little lateness is far better than missing the job altogether.

Skipping a year won’t kill your plants, but it will affect the crop. Canes become crowded, airflow suffers, and you’ll gradually see fewer berries. An annual prune keeps things productive and healthy for years to come: and it takes very little time once you’re in the habit.

It’s easy to lose track of what needs doing and when, so here’s the full pruning year at a glance.

With the calendar clear in your head, it’s worth looking at autumn varieties in a little more detail. Timing really does matter here.

Raspberries are active growers from spring through to summer. New canes emerge in spring and grow rapidly, often reaching full height by midsummer. Growth slows as day length shortens through late summer and into autumn, and the plant becomes dormant over winter.

Autumn-fruiting varieties extend the season nicely. Summer types finish cropping in July or August, but varieties like Autumn Bliss and Polka keep producing right through to October and sometimes well beyond this, particularly in sheltered spots. If you’re hoping to stretch your harvest, pairing a summer variety such as Glen Ample with an autumn one is a very satisfying approach.

The plants themselves are perennial: the root system is permanent, and provided the canes are pruned and the soil is kept in good condition, a raspberry bed will go on producing reliably for many years.

Once your canes are in the ground and pruned, the day-to-day care is straightforward. Here’s what to keep on top of.

Ready to start? Browse our range of raspberry canes to find the variety that suits your garden. If you’re ever unsure about anything, from soil prep to pruning technique, our team is always here to help.