Raspberry Willamette - Rubus idaeus

The 'Willamette' Raspberry is a non-remontant variety, producing small, dark red, firm, and fragrant fruits. It is a highly productive variety. Planting is done from October to March, for a harvest from mid-June to mid-July.

The 'Willamette' Raspberry produces small, dark red fruits that are firm and fragrant. To fully enjoy their flavour, raspberries should be consumed quickly after picking, as they do not keep well. If you have a bountiful harvest, consider making purees, sorbets, tarts, or jams. You can also freeze them. Production reaches its normal level in the third year after planting. A plant can produce fruits for several years, around 10 years.

The 'Willamette' variety is a cultivar originating from Canada. It is vigorous and suckering. It is a non-remontant variety. Indeed, there are remontant varieties, which produce in June on the previous year's branches and from August to October on the branches of the current year, and non-remontant varieties, which have a bountiful harvest around June-July.

The Raspberry is a deciduous shrub with upright stems, forming a bush about 1.50m (5ft) in all directions over time. The stems or canes are biennial, each having the peculiarity of dying after fruiting. Every year, suckers emerge from its roots, new canes armed with small, mildly prickly prickles. The Raspberry has green leaves on the upper side, white-green and tomentose on the underside. The flowering is highly attractive to bees. The white flowers are small (1 to 2cm (0.25 to 1in) in diameter), grouped in small clusters of 10 to 12, and appear in April-May. The fruits are formed by small aggregated drupes, easy to detach at ripeness.

The Raspberry belongs to the Rosaceae family, like strawberries, blackberries, and wild roses. The wild raspberry is native to Europe and temperate Asia, where it grows in cool climates along with elderberry, beech, or mountain ash, especially in mountainous undergrowth, but also in plains.