Choosing raspberry plants

Depending on fruit colour

Red raspberry plants

It’s the most common colour, the one everyone knows. Raspberry red is distinctive and, in this category, you will be spoilt for choice. Among the most widely grown are Meeker raspberry, Malling Promise raspberry (productive and early-ripening) and Heritage raspberry.

Heritage raspberry

Black raspberry plants

Some raspberry plants produce black-coloured fruit, such as the Black Jewel raspberry, vigorous and hardy, with delicious fruit tasting between a blackberry and a raspberry.

Black Jewel raspberries

Yellow raspberry plants

Less common but just as tasty, yellow raspberries have the advantage of attracting fewer birds because of their more discreet colouring. This is the case with the Fall Gold raspberry, whose fruits are very sweet, and the Golden Everest raspberry, with a slightly tangy flavour.

Fall Gold raspberry

Depending on pruning of raspberries

On average, raspberries measure 1 cm to 1.5 cm in diameter. But those with a big appetite will want more! Rest assured some varieties produce very large fruits, such as the Malling Happy raspberry, whose fruits reach 3 cm in diameter, or the Marastar raspberry, with fruits larger than a 2-euro coin.

Other varieties notable for the size of their fruits include the Magnific Delbard delmes raspberry, tempting with its large fruits weighing 10 to 12 g, with excellent flavour and that keep well, as well as the Sumo 2 raspberry, or the original Buckingham® Tayberry, which produces very large deep reddish-black fruits with a refined flavour between blackberry and raspberry. Plenty to enjoy!

Magnific Delbard delmes raspberry

Depending on productivity and harvest period

Two types of raspberry plants are distinguished depending on harvest period: non-perpetual and perpetual. Non-perpetual produce fruit once a year in summer, from June to early August. Perpetual plants, on the other hand, produce fruit twice, in summer, in June and July, and in autumn, in September and October. Those keen on plenty of fruit will prefer these. And icing on the cake, raspberry plants can fruit for 10 years!

– Perpetual or non-perpetual

Among perpetual, for example, are Raspberry Zeva Herbsternte, prized for its large, highly fragrant fruit, Raspberry Twotimer Sugana Red, also producing very large fruit, Raspberry Blissy or Autumn Bliss, Raspberry Heritage, and Raspberry Marastar, very productive and also producing large fruit.

Among non-perpetual, for example, are Raspberry ‘Malling Promise’ and Raspberry ‘Meeker’.

Raspberry ‘Twotimer Sugana Red’

– Early or extended harvest

Among earliest raspberry plants, for example, are Raspberry Délice de Framboise ‘Rusilva’, which produces fruit from mid-June, and Raspberry ‘Little Sweet Sister’, which allows harvests from June.

To benefit from a longer harvest period, you can also try our Collection of 3 raspberry plants for a spreading harvest from June until first frosts.

Raspberry ‘Little Sweet Sister’

Also discover our top 5 raspberry plants from our trial of 20 varieties.

Depending on bush pruning

On average, raspberry plants are between 1.5 m and 2 m tall, and almost as wide. Plan to place them somewhere where they’ll have enough room to grow and develop. For container growing on a balcony or terrace, choose dwarf raspberry varieties or more compact types, such as Raspberry ‘Rustica’, which reaches 50 cm in height and width, or dwarf Raspberry ‘Ruby Beauté’, which grows to 80 cm to 1 m in height.

Raspberry ‘Rustica’

Depending on the colour of the foliage

Raspberry bushes are deciduous, bearing green leaves on their upper surface and paler beneath. To achieve a more decorative effect, you can plant a Groovy Raspberry, which brightens the garden thanks to the orange hue of its young leaves in spring, turning golden in summer.

Varieties without thorns

Raspberry canes generally bear small thorns, which are much less sharp than those of their cousins, the brambles. However, if you’re wary of potential scratches, rest assured there are thornless varieties. This is the case, for example, with the Raspberry ‘Versailles’ or the thornless Glen Ample Raspberry.

Raspberry ‘Versailles’

Depending on use

– In ground or in pots

Raspberry plants are generally planted outdoors, in ground, in beds or used to create hedges. Among the largest, discover the Raspberry ‘Malling Happy’ which reaches 1.60 m at ripeness or the Raspberry ‘Willamette’, which grows to a height of 1.50 m.

For growing on a balcony or a terrace, choose dwarf varieties better suited to pot cultivation.

– Organic raspberry plants

For organic growers, raspberry plants are also available in organic versions. You can therefore plant classic varieties in organic form, such as Organic Raspberry ‘Zeva’, Organic Raspberry ‘Marastar’, Organic Raspberry ‘Blissy’, or Organic Raspberry ‘Heritage’.

– Storage

Although raspberries are delicate fruits, some varieties or species produce firm fruit that keep for a long time, such as Raspberry ‘Magnific Delbard – Georges Delbard’ or Raspberry ‘Meeker’, whose fruit tolerate freezing well.

To make your selection, find our collection of raspberry plants! Happy gardening and enjoy your harvest!