Rubus idaeus Raspbeary - Raspberry

The Red Raspberry or Rubus idaeus Raspberry is a beautiful fruity innovation in the world of red fruits, undoubtedly the first "tree-like" variety of raspberry offered on the market. Truly unique in its silhouette, this raspberry bush is both ornamental and useful. It produces deliciously sweet and fragrant red raspberries on its slightly branched crown when ripe. The flowering, which is repeat, occurs from May to July, with a harvest from July to September. Like other raspberry bushes, it is preferable to plant in autumn, in semi-shade or indirect sunlight, in a humus-rich soil that remains slightly moist.  

The Red Raspberry belongs to the Rosaceae family, it is a cousin of blackberries and wild roses. The wild raspberry bush (in Latin Rubus idaeus) is native to Europe and temperate Asia, where it grows in cool climates alongside elderberry, beech, and the wild service tree, especially in mountainous undergrowth, but also on the plains.

The Red Raspberry Bush has a small trunk measuring 40-50 cm (15.7-19.7 in) in height and a slightly ramified crown, which facilitates fruit harvesting. Its stems do not need to be trained, unlike those of classical raspberry bushes. Eventually, the plant forms a small tree of about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height. It is a deciduous shrub that loses its leaves in autumn. The leaves are green on the top and white-green and hairy on the underside. The flowering is high yielding. The white flowers are small,1 to 2 cm in diameter (0.4 to 0.8 in), grouped in small clusters of 10 to 12, and appear in multiple waves from May to September. The fruits are formed by small clusters of drupelets that are not attached to the plant receptacle and easily detach at maturity*. The fruiting is regular between July and late September to mid-October.

Raspberries are best consumed fresh, right after picking. They do not keep for very long and should be quickly consumed or used, for example made into jam. Production reaches its normal level in the third year after planting. A plant can produce fruit for around 10 years.

The fruits can be used to make jams or fill pies. Raspberry cultivation seems to date back to the late Middle Ages. In the forest, five to ten years after a beech cutting, wild raspberries appeared in the cleared area, producing fruit for three to four years. Raspberries are low in energy, they contain two specific sugars, levulose and fructose, and very little sucrose. The fruits also contain ellagic acid, tannins, vitamin C, and are a good source of potassium. It is also a medicinal plant, with its young shoots and buds used in gemmotherapy.

The Red Raspberry Bush is particularly suitable to be grown in pots on the terrace or balcony. It also makes a great focal point, for example, in a small flowerbed.

*This non-adherence is actually a distinguishing criterion between raspberries in the broader sense and blackberries (including Rubus fruticosus, our European blackberry) whose receptacle remains on the fruit.