Soft fruit (cane)
How to grow raspberries
Rubus idaeus
Plant bare-root raspberry canes between November and March, 45 to 60 cm apart, in a sunny, sheltered row of rich, slightly acid soil that holds moisture without lying wet. Two things decide the crop: knowing whether your canes are summer-fruiting or autumn-fruiting, because the two are pruned at different times, and keeping the shallow roots mulched and watered while the fruit swells. Feed in early spring, with potash leading and no lime.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Full sun to light shade, sheltered
- Soil
- Rich, moisture-retentive, free-draining, slightly acid
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 6.5
- Water
- High, shallow roots; mulch to hold moisture
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting raspberries
WhenPlant bare-root Nov to Mar; harvest Jun to Aug (summer) or Aug to Oct (autumn)
Starting off
Propagate by lifting rooted suckers in Nov to Mar from healthy rows. Summer: Glen Ample, Tulameen, Malling Jewel; autumn: Autumn Bliss, Polka, Joan J.
Spacing and planting
Canes 45 to 60 cm apart in rows 1.8 m apart, planted shallow with the roots about 5 cm down, cut to 25 cm after planting. Posts 1.8 m tall with wires at 60, 120 and 170 cm. Autumn types (Autumn Bliss, Polka) crop in a 45 cm pot with 3 canes; summer types need a row.
Varieties worth growing
- Glen Ample
- The standard mid-season summer raspberry: spine-free canes, heavy crops of large firm berries through July.
- Tulameen
- Late summer type picked from mid July well into August, with the best flavour of the summer varieties.
- Joan J
- Spine-free autumn raspberry with big berries from August to the first frost; short canes that need little support.
- Polka
- Autumn type that starts a fortnight before Autumn Bliss and carries larger, glossier fruit.
- All Gold
- Yellow autumn raspberry, sweet and mild; a sport of Autumn Bliss, grown and pruned in the same way.
Raspberries month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Plant bare-root canes whenever the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged. Check posts and tighten wires.
- February
Cut every autumn-fruiting cane to the ground. Tip summer canes 10 cm above the top wire. First feed at the end of the month.
- March
Feed if not done, then mulch 5 to 8 cm deep, keeping it off the cane bases. Last chance for bare-root planting.
- April
Pull or hoe out suckers that come up away from the row. Water new canes in a dry spell. Hang beetle traps late in the month.
- May
Thin autumn canes to about 10 cm apart. Water as the summer types flower if it is dry.
- June
Net against birds. First summer berries at the end of the month. Water weekly in dry weather.
- July
Pick summer types every two to three days. Tie in the new canes loosely as they grow.
- August
Cut fruited summer canes to the ground and tie in the six to eight strongest new ones per plant. Second feed. Autumn types start.
- September
Pick autumn types. Loop any over-tall summer canes along the top wire.
- October
Last autumn fruit until the first frost. Order bare-root canes.
- November
Plant bare-root canes, roots about 5 cm down, and cut to 25 cm. Lift rooted suckers from healthy rows.
- December
Plant in open weather. Otherwise nothing to do.
Feeding raspberries
A moderate feeder that wants potash and a moisture-holding mulch more than nitrogen. Never lime a raspberry row, and avoid mushroom compost, which is alkaline.
Mulch with organic matter and feed potassium for fruit; it dislikes lime and chalk, which cause yellowing (chlorosis).
Feeding plan
Planting, November to March
5 g per litre of root-ball volume, touching the roots, once. A bare-root cane has about a litre of root: 5 g dusted onto the damp roots. A cane from a 2 litre pot takes 10 g.
Late February to March
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 to 100 g/m². Feed a band 60 cm wide, so each metre of row is 0.6 m²: 42 to 60 g per metre of row, scattered and lightly raked in.
March, light or sandy soil
20 to 35 g/m² (the label rate for fruit): 12 to 21 g per metre of row over the same 60 cm band. Skip it on heavier soil that grows good canes.
March to April, after feeding
Garden compost
A mulch 5 to 8 cm deep along the row, or well-rotted manure, kept just clear of the cane bases.
August, after the summer harvest
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
50 g/m², which is 30 g per metre of row. With the spring dose this stays at or under the 150 g/m² season limit. Autumn types do not need this second feed.
Signs to watch
Young leaves yellow with green veins
Lime-induced iron chlorosis on chalk or after liming
Sulphur, acidic mulch, seaweed, no lime
Thin pale canes under 1.5 m
Nitrogen short
Nitrogen feed with manure mulch
Leaf margins scorched
Potassium short on light soil
Sulphate of potash
Pests, diseases and problems
Small white grubs inside ripe berries, with dry grey-brown patches at the stalk end
Raspberry beetle; the adults lay in the flowers in May and June
Hang a raspberry beetle trap in the row from late April to catch the adults. Autumn-fruiting varieties flower after the main egg-laying period and are much less affected.
Fruiting canes wilt and die in summer and snap off easily at soil level
Cane blight, a fungus that gets in through wounds at the base of the cane
Cut affected canes off below soil level and burn or bin them. Disinfect secateurs between cuts and avoid damaging cane bases when hoeing or tying in.
Purple patches round the buds on new canes in August, turning silver-grey over winter; weak side shoots next year
Spur blight, worst in crowded rows
Thin new canes early so air moves through the row, cut out badly marked canes, and do not overdo nitrogen.
Leaves mottled yellow, canes shorter each year, berries small and crumbly
Raspberry viruses, spread by aphids and built up over the years
No cure. Dig the row out, and replant certified virus-free canes on a fresh site where raspberries have not grown.
Canes die out in patches and few new canes come up in spring
Phytophthora root rot on heavy or waterlogged soil
Remove the affected plants and do not replant raspberries there. On heavy ground plant new rows on a ridge or raised bed for drainage.
Ripe fruit pecked or missing
Birds, mainly blackbirds
Net the row or grow in a fruit cage from the time the first berries colour.
Grey fluffy mould on berries in a wet summer
Grey mould (botrytis)
Pick every two to three days, remove mouldy fruit from the row, and keep canes thinned to 10 cm apart.
Pruning and harvest
Pruning and care
Summer types fruit on last year's canes: after harvest in Jul to Aug cut fruited canes to the ground, tie in the 6 to 8 strongest new canes per plant 10 cm apart, remove the rest, and tip them 10 cm above the top wire in Feb. Autumn types fruit on this year's canes: cut all down in Feb, thin to 10 cm.
Harvest and storage
Pick when fully coloured and the berry slides off the plug; go over every 2 to 3 days in dry weather. Summer types crop from the second year, autumn types in their planting year. Expect 1 to 2 kg per metre of row. Fridge for 2 days; freeze on trays before bagging; jam.
Good to knowSummer-fruiting canes fruit on last year's wood; autumn types fruit on the current year's canes, cut those right down in winter.
Growing raspberries in pots
Autumn-fruiting varieties such as Joan J and Polka crop in a 45 cm pot (about 40 litres) with three canes; summer types need a row in the ground. Use a peat-free loam-based compost with the 4-5-6 mixed in at 5 g per litre, which is 200 g for a 40 litre pot. Water with rainwater where tap water is hard, since lime builds up and yellows the leaves. Never let the pot dry out while fruit is swelling. Each March scrape off the top few centimetres, top-dress with 2 g per litre (80 g) and fresh compost, and replant into new compost every three years.
Raspberries: common questions
When should I cut back raspberry canes?
Summer-fruiting raspberries are cut straight after harvest in July or August, and autumn-fruiting ones in February. On summer types remove only the canes that have just fruited and keep the new green ones for next year. On autumn types cut everything to the ground.
Why are my raspberries small and crumbly?
Crumbly berries that fall apart when picked usually mean virus in an old row, or poor pollination in cold wet weather at flowering. If the leaves are also mottled yellow and the canes get weaker each year it is virus, and the row should be replaced with certified canes on a new site.
How long do raspberry plants last?
A raspberry row is usually productive for about 10 years. After that virus builds up and yields fall, so start a new row with certified canes in a different part of the garden rather than replanting in the same soil.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow raspberriesRHS
- Raspberry beetleRHS
- How to grow raspberriesBBC Gardeners' World