If you grow raspberries, what sort do you grow?

We have just prepared two beds and want to put Autumn Bliss in one, but don’t know which earlier fruiting sort to choose. So… what would you pick?

And any handy tips on growing would be gratefully received!

They seem to pretty much grow themselves!

We inherited a bed of raspberries in the garden of our new house. Not sure what type they are but seemed to have a continuous supply for many months with some starting as others finished.

They do spread like mad though - new plants shoot up from the roots so we have had a few try to pop up in the grass.

My biggest issue was getting to the raspberries before either my son or the birds did! A fruitcage is on my wish list for DH to build - but so are a LOT of other things! (he is a fab DIYer but we are re doing most of the house, spent the weekend lime plastering what will be DSs bedroom).

i planted 3 autumn bliss 2 years ago on alan titchmarsh’s recommendation - he says birds won’t touch autumn fruiting varieties for some reason and he’s right, we’ve never had a problem with the birds. our 3 plants fruit from early summer right through until november, really heavy cropping, we had so many last year and dd loved picking them every day plus i froze loads to keep surprising her through the winter.
there is no complicated pruning with autumn varieties (according to alan!) so i just cut them right back and they are now sprouting, and spreading too, into the rhubarb patch!
i’ve been wondering if i should feed the bed as it’s had 2 years of lots of fruiting, but i’ve seen raspberries in the wild fruiting like mad with nobody pruning and fertilizing, so i can’t make my mind up!
enjoy!

x

Glen Fyne and Glen Moy are both widely regarded as the best summer fruiting ones - fruiting from June onwards (or maybe a little earlier depending on where you live).

The only difference is with autumn ones you cut all canes right back to the ground, with summer ones you only cut back the canes that fruited that year completely.

My only advice is to pick them regularly, daily and freeze if necessary.
Oh and they will come up everywhere! Unless you grow them in containers.

So if I don’t know which are the summer fruiting ones, and which are the autumn fruiting ones, what do I cut back and when?

CariadEmma - 26 March 2012 09:22 PM

So if I don’t know which are the summer fruiting ones, and which are the autumn fruiting ones, what do I cut back and when?

That’s the problem we used to have with some raspberries we had. If you (like us) don’t know what variety you have it’s a guessing game - when do they generally fruit? I would say if you get fruit developing as early as May and early June then they are Summer ones, but if it’s August or later (and maybe late July) they are Autumn varieties. Have you been cutting them back to the ground each year? Check this year if the fruits develop on new canes or old ones -

- Summer fruiting ones fruit on stems that are a season old, so summer fruiting ones you only cut back the stems that fruited, remaining stems will fruit the following year and you retain however many you want - usually nurseries recommend keeping about 6 stems and cutting the rest back to the ground.
- Autumn fruiting ones are simpler in that you just cut them all back to the ground in early Spring and they fruit on that years growth canes.

Most people just grow Autumn ones so they don’t have to remember what to cut back.
The other things is many raspberries are just wild and rambling so they just fruit anyway, but if you want to control the space they are in, pruning is necessary.
We’ve just got rid of ours as they were rambling everywhere - passed them onto friends who are putting them in containers

I think I might just go for Autumn Bliss - I like the idea of more ‘bird-proof’ fruit, and it would make things easier in terms of care…

Thanks for all the help everyone! I’m looking forward to sorbets, summer pudding, raspberry cake…

Just had an email from wiggly wigglers - see below. We’ve just had some apple trees from them a few weeks ago that are just starting to bud.

****

Raspberry Weekend - Save nearly 30% on raspberry canes until Mon 9.30am

A punnet of supermarket raspberries can be one of the most expensive fruits you can buy, yet how often are they are a bit of a let down on the flavour front? Freshness is key: if you grow your own you can not only save money, but you can produce the most delicious flavours ever. The key is to pick different varieties so that you have fruit throughout the season instead of one moment of bulk.

We have negotiated a special deal with our fabulous raspberry cane supplier which means you will save nearly 30% on each variety on normal prices - fab - but it Ends Monday morning
We have a stock list of the raspberries on offer and there are limited quantities

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/offers/raspberry-weekend/

The way it will work
PLEASE READ - it’s important: We have no detailed stock control on our website, this means that we will check the quantities purchased and put any that are sold out - out of stock.  However whatever we do it is possible for two people buy at once and because of the limited quantites we may not be able to fulfill the complete order. If this is the case you will be notified and offered a replacement varietyor a refund straight away. This offer will end on April 2nd and the orders for Raspberries will be collated and despatched during the same week. This delivery schedule will override any Delivery Date choice you make at the checkout.

Enjoy your raspberries
Heather and team wiggly

PS The best Easter Gift ever…

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop/product.html?product_id=1696