Summer-Bearing Red Raspberry

Summer-bearing red raspberries crop on last year’s canes.

Sun

Full sun

Water

Water deeply during establishment; adjust to rainfall and soil

Spacing

24 in

First harvest

Usually 1–2 years after planting

Tips

• Keep healthy first-year canes; remove only canes that finished fruiting.
• Choose nursery stock adapted to local hardiness, season length and disease pressure.
• Use cultivar- and rootstock-specific spacing rather than treating a planning value as universal.
• Water during establishment and avoid overcropping young plants.
• Plant dormant canes in spring at their nursery depth, about 2-3 feet apart, and prioritize root growth in the first season.
• Supply about 1-2 inches of water weekly during fruit development and mulch without burying cane bases.
• Feed in early spring rather than late summer, which encourages tender growth before winter.
• Trellis summer-bearing canes and remove them after fruiting; mow fall-bearing types in late winter only if growing a fall-only crop.
• Pick berries when they slip easily from the receptacle, and remove damaged fruit promptly to limit spotted-wing drosophila.

Use local perennial planting guidance; spacing and bearing age vary with cultivar, nursery stock and training system.

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