How to grow Raspberry
Updated June 2026
Raspberries are among the easiest fruit for a home garden where summers are mild and winters are cold, and a short row gives fresh berries for years. Everbearing types such as Heritage are the simplest to prune, while summer-bearing types give one big early crop.
Where to plant
Choose a sunny spot with deep, well-drained soil. Oregon State University Extension recommends a soil test a year ahead and a pH of 5.6 to 6.5. Raspberry roots rot in wet, heavy soil, so plant on a raised bed or mounded row where drainage is poor.
Do not plant where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplant grew in the last few years, or near wild brambles, as they carry verticillium wilt and viruses. Raspberries struggle in hot, humid summers, so they are not recommended for Florida, the Gulf South, low desert or most of Texas, where blackberries are the better cane fruit.
- Pacific Northwest and Northern California: prime raspberry country.
- Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, mountain valleys and Alaska: choose varieties rated for your zone; Boyne is hardy to zone 3.
- Mid-South and Southern Plains: grow with afternoon shade and steady water; expect a shorter season.
Choosing a variety
Summer-bearing (floricane) varieties fruit once, in early summer, on canes grown the year before. Everbearing (primocane) varieties fruit in late summer and fall on new canes, and can give a small early summer crop as well.
| Variety | Type | Zones |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage | Everbearing red | 4 to 8 |
| Caroline | Everbearing red | 4 to 8 |
| Boyne | Summer-bearing red | 3 to 7 |
| Meeker | Summer-bearing red | 5 to 8 |
| Anne | Everbearing yellow | 4 to 7 |
Zones are from Oregon State University Extension. Buy certified, virus-tested plants rather than suckers from an old patch.
How to plant
- Plant as early in spring as the soil can be worked. Keep bare-root plants moist, and heel them in with soil if you cannot plant right away.
- Dig a shallow hole, spread the roots flat, and cover them so the top of the roots sits 1 to 2 in below the soil.
- Space red raspberries 2 ft (everbearing) to 2.5 ft (summer-bearing) apart in rows 8 to 10 ft apart.
- Water thoroughly and cut newly planted bare-root canes back to about 6 in.
- Mulch, and put up a simple trellis of posts and wires before the canes get tall.
Watering and feeding
Oregon State University Extension says established raspberries need about 1 to 1.5 in of water a week in the growing season, wetting the soil 6 to 12 in deep. Drip irrigation keeps the fruit dry and cuts disease.
Feed in spring as growth starts with a balanced fertilizer at label rates, based on a soil test where possible. Avoid fish fertilizer in quantity, as it is salty.
Pruning and care through the year
- Summer-bearing: after harvest, cut the canes that fruited to the ground, and thin the new canes, keeping the strongest for next year.
- Everbearing: for one large fall crop, mow or cut all canes to the ground in late winter.
- Keep hedgerows narrow, 6 to 12 in wide for summer-bearing and 12 to 18 in for everbearing types, by removing suckers outside the row.
- Net against birds, and pick often to stay ahead of spotted wing drosophila.
Harvesting
Ripe raspberries separate easily from the white core. Pick fully colored fruit with a gentle pull, without squeezing, every two or three days, and refrigerate right away.
Summer-bearing types ripen in early to mid summer, and everbearing types from late summer until frost.
Growing in pots
Everbearing varieties grow in a container at least 16 in wide with a stake. Water often, feed lightly through the season, and cut the canes down each winter. Protect the pot from hard freezes in cold zones.
Propagation
Red raspberries spread by root suckers. In early spring, dig a healthy sucker with roots from a vigorous plant and replant it, but only from plants that crop well, as viruses pass to new plants.
Companion planting
Keep the row clear and weed-free so air moves through the canes. Flowers nearby bring in bees.
Good companions
- Garlic A compact edging crop that does not shade the canes.
- Chives Small clumps whose flowers bring in bees.
- Marigold Draws hoverflies and other helpful insects.
- Borage Its blue flowers draw bees, which help the berries set fully.
Keep apart
Avoid planting these close to raspberry.
Pests and diseases
Spotted wing drosophila is the main fruit pest in many regions. Root rot is the most damaging disease in wet soil.
Pests to watch for
- Spotted wing drosophila Soft, collapsing berries with tiny white larvae; pick often and refrigerate fruit right away.
- Japanese beetle Metallic green beetles that skeletonize leaves in midsummer in the East and Midwest.
- Spider mite Fine yellow stippling on leaves in hot, dry weather.
- Aphids Clusters of small insects on new shoots; some spread viruses.
- Birds Berries taken as they ripen. Net the row.
Diseases to watch for
- Root rot New canes die in midsummer and fruiting shoots collapse, worst in wet, heavy soil.
- Gray mold Gray, fuzzy mold on ripe berries in wet weather.
- Verticillium wilt Canes wilt and die in late summer, especially in black raspberries.
- Anthracnose Small purple spots with gray centers on canes.
Common questions
When do I plant raspberries?
As early in spring as the soil can be worked. In mild-winter areas such as the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, late winter planting works too.
Why are my raspberries crumbly?
Crumbly fruit is usually raspberry bushy dwarf virus, spread in pollen by bees. There is no cure; replace the planting with virus-tested plants in a new spot.
Can I grow raspberries in Florida?
Not well. Raspberries need cooler summers and more winter chill than Florida provides. Grow thornless Southern blackberries instead.
How do I prune everbearing raspberries?
The simplest way is to cut every cane to the ground in late winter, which gives one large crop in late summer and fall on the new canes.
How much water do raspberries need?
About 1 to 1.5 in a week in the growing season, wetting the soil 6 to 12 in deep, more in hot weather.
Are raspberries invasive?
Garden red raspberries are not a listed noxious weed, but they sucker, so keep them in a narrow row. Some relatives, such as wineberry in the East and Himalayan blackberry in the West, are invasive, and several Rubus species are serious weeds in Hawaii.
Sources we checked: Oregon State University Extension: Growing raspberries in your home garden (EC 1306).
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