The Ultimate Guide to Raised Garden Beds for Growing Raspberries

Raspberries are one of the most delicious and delicate of berry crops. Their distinctive aroma and tart flavor make raspberries a favorite of home gardeners, and Oregon is a great place to grow them.

Raspberries are caneberries, a group which also includes blackberries and raspberry-blackberry hybrids. Caneberry plants produce fruit on hard, woody stems called canes.

Raspberries and blackberries can be distinguished by their fruit. Both produce a fruit made up of many individual sections, or drupelets (Figure 1A–C). Each drupelet encloses a seed. However, when raspberries are picked, the fruit comes off the receptacle — the white central core that stays on the plant — and the berry is hollow inside (Figure 1A–C). In blackberries, the receptacle stays attached to the fruit when you pick it — blackberries are not hollow.

Figure 1A. The receptacle, or plug, stays on the plant when you pick a raspberry. Photo: Bernadine Strik, © Oregon State University

Figure 1B. The receptacle of a black raspberry also stays on the plant when you pick it. Photo: Bernadine Strik, © Oregon State University

Figure 1C. In blackberry, the receptacle is part of the fruit. Photo: Bernadine Strik, © Oregon State University

The raspberries covered in this guide include red-, yellow-, black (also called blackcaps), and purple-fruiting cultivars, or cultivated varieties. Raspberry-blackberry hybrids such as ‘Boysen’ and ‘Logan’ (also known as “boysenberry” and “loganberry”) are trailing blackberries. See Growing Blackberries in Your Home Garden, EC 1303 for more information on blackberries.

Raspberries have a unique growth habit. The plants have a perennial root system and crown, or plant base. But the canes are biennial.

Red raspberry plants have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, while black raspberry plants live for five to 10 years, depending on the presence of pests or adverse environmental conditions.

Red- and yellow-fruited raspberry cultivars are either classified as summer-bearing (floricane-fruiting) or everbearing (primocane-fruiting). Each type is pruned and trained differently. Some yellow-fruited cultivars are simple mutations of a red-fruited cultivar. So, in some red cultivars, a yellow-fruited cane can grow in the raspberry patch.

The black raspberry cultivars commonly available all fruit on the floricanes, which means they are all summer-bearing. Blackcaps must be pruned and trained differently than summer-bearing red or yellow raspberries. Purple raspberries are hybrids between red and black raspberries but are pruned and trained most like blackcaps.

The two names for a raspberry cane describe whether the cane is in its first or second year of growth:

Summer-bearing raspberries produce fruit in June and July, depending on the cultivar and region. The fruiting season of everbearing raspberries is in June and July on the floricanes and from early August until the first frost on the primocanes, depending on the cultivar and region.

All raspberry types produce primocanes from the crown and the base of old canes in the spring of each year (Figure 2). However, red and yellow raspberries also produce new primocanes from buds on the roots, and so these plants spread out from the place they are planted.

You can find several raspberry species in the wild in Oregon, all of which fruit on the floricanes:

Figure 4A. Native salmonberry raspberry with brown spiny canes and dark pink flowers. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 7. Native black raspberry with immature fruit and purple canes with spines. Photo: Bernadine Strik

It is important to choose a cultivar adapted to your region. Various types of raspberry differ in fruiting season and cultural requirements. Even cultivars within the same type differ in fruit quality, flavor, appearance, tolerance to pests, cold hardiness and plant longevity.

Winter cold-hardy cultivars adapted to the colder regions of Oregon (such as zones 5 to 7), may not grow normally in regions of the Willamette Valley (zone 8) where winters are warmer and plants receive less winter chill. Also, cultivars adapted to the Willamette Valley (zone 8, for example) may lack sufficient cold hardiness for central, eastern and southeastern Oregon (see “Common problems”). If you choose a summer-bearing cultivar or want to grow an everbearing cultivar for a double crop, then the cultivar must have sufficient cold hardiness on the overwintering cane to get a floricane crop; this overwintering primocane is exposed to cold temperatures and potentially drying winds. In contrast, an everbearing cultivar may be grown for a primocane crop only (single crop) in any production region, because no over-wintering cane is needed for this production method — only the crown overwinters in this production system. The total yield of an everbearing cultivar, grown in either system, is usually lower than that of a summer-bearing cultivar.

Table 1 lists cultivar suggestions noted for good flavor and pest resistance by type. A range in Cold Hardiness Zone may help you determine regional adaptation if you are growing in an area with a borderline USDA Cold Hardiness Zone. Be aware that cold hardiness zones vary within any one region. (For example, you may be in zone 5 because your home is at a higher elevation, while the majority of the region is in zone 6). See Raspberry Cultivars for the Pacific Northwest, PNW 655, or Selecting Berry Crop Varieties for Central Oregon, EC 1621.

You can find descriptions of newer cultivars online through various nurseries. Note susceptibility to disease, because this may limit planting life or production in your region. For example, cultivars susceptible to root rot are difficult to grow in most areas of the Willamette Valley.

Purple raspberries are not commonly grown in Oregon but may be a good addition to the home garden. They are excellent for processing into jams or pies. Choose a summer-bearing red raspberry cultivar if you want sufficient fruit during a more concentrated season for freezing or jam making. You may complement this with an everbearing cultivar for later season fresh fruit. It’s important to choose a cultivar adapted to your needs and site.

Whichever types and cultivars you choose, buy only certified, disease-free plants from a reputable nursery. It can be tempting to start your new planting by digging up “suckers” — primocanes that developed from buds on the roots — from your old patch or that of a neighbor. That route is easy and free. But it could also introduce pest-infested soil and virus-infected plants to your new planting. Also, many cultivars are patented and may only legally be propagated by licensed nurseries. Many of the cultivars in Table 1 (and more) are available through local retail and mail-order nurseries. Plants often sell out quickly, so order well in advance of spring planting.

Because raspberry cultivars do not need cross-pollination to produce fruit, you only need to choose one cultivar. However, growing more than one type or cultivar will allow you to compare them, have sufficient fruit for freezing or jam, and to have fresh fruit for an extended period.

Table Raspberry cultivars

Summer-bearing red or yellow raspberry – One crop per season on floricane

• ‘Cascade Delight’: Zones 6–9
• ‘Cascade Harvest’: Zones 6–9
• ‘Meeker’: Zones 5–8
• ‘Willamette’: Zones 5–8
• ‘Canby’: Zones 4–7
• ‘Boyne’: Zones 3–7
• ‘Encore’: Zones 4–7
• ‘Killarney’: Zones 4–7
• ‘AC Eden’: Zones 4–8
• ‘Prelude’: Zones 4–8
• ‘Cascade Gold’ (yellow): Zones 5–8

Everbearing red or yellow raspberry Up to two crops per season

• ‘Vintage’: Zones 4–7
• ‘Heritage’: Zones 4–8
• ‘Caroline’: Zones 4–8
• ‘Joan J’: Zones 4–8
• ‘Polana’: Zones 3–8
• ‘Anne’ (yellow): Zones 4–7
• ‘Fall Gold’ (yellow): Zones 4–8

Black or purple raspberry Summer-bearing; one crop per season

• ‘Jewel’ (black): Zones 5–8
• ‘Brandywine’ (purple): Zones 4–8
• ‘Royalty’ (purple): Zones 4–8

Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik

‘Jewel’ black raspberry vines and fruit. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Raspberry plantings are productive for five to 15 years, depending on berry type, soil and pest pressure. Carefully select a site best for optimal planting life. Ideal environmental conditions for raspberries are full sun exposure and fertile, well-drained, sandy loam or clay loam soils with moderate water-holding capacity. While plants can tolerate partial shade, yield and fruit quality may be lower. Raspberry plants are sensitive to wet or heavy soils and are susceptible to root rot (see “Common problems”). Raised beds or mounded rows, if constructed correctly, can create enough height for adequate drainage, if necessary (Figure 8). If possible, avoid spots in your yard exposed to high winds, which may make ripe fruit fall during fruiting or increase the risk of winter cold injury to primocanes.

Raspberries, especially blackcaps, are also susceptible to verticillium wilt, a soil-dwelling fungal disease (see “Common problems”). Avoid planting in sites where other verticillium-susceptible crops (such as strawberries, kiwifruits, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or eggplant) and numerous ornamental trees, especially maples, have been planted in the past five years. Being aware of alternate hosts and changing crops will also disrupt other soilborne pest and disease cycles.

Figure 8. Primocane-fruiting raspberry growing in a raised bed. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Table 2. Recommended soil nutrient ranges for raspberries

• Phosphorus (P)
  • Bray 1 testing method: Deficient at less than 20–40 ppm
  • Olsen testing method: Deficient at less than 10 ppm
• Potassium (K): Deficient at less than 150–350 ppm
• Calcium (Ca): Deficient at less than 1,000 ppm
• Magnesium (Mg): Deficient at less than 120 ppm
• Boron (B): Deficient at less than 0.5–1.0 ppm

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Figure 24A. Summer-bearing red raspberry pruning. Dying floricanes are yellow, whereas new primocanes are green. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 24B, left. Prune dying floricanes at crown level. Avoid cutting out green primocanes. Figure 24C, middle. Bundle of dying floricanes removed from one plant. Note the presence of fruiting laterals that supported the fruit. Figure 24D, right. Primocanes remaining after caning out the dying floricanes. Tuck canes between the wires. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Pruning in winter involves caning out the dead floricanes (if that wasn’t done in summer), and pruning and training the primocanes. In the Willamette Valley and southwestern Oregon, prune anytime from December through February. However, in colder production regions such as central, eastern and southeastern Oregon, prune as late as possible in winter to reduce the risk of winter cold injury and to remove any cold-damaged tissue (see “Common problems”).

Cane out any dead floricanes present by cutting them at their base. Prune the remaining primocanes by removing weak, broken, diseased and insect-damaged canes. For hedgerow plantings, remove any primocanes that are outside the 6- to 12-inch-wide hedgerow by pruning or tilling. If you are growing plants in the hill system, leave all the healthy primocanes in the hill area and remove any that are growing between hills or plants and outside the row area. Tuck the primocanes between the lower movable wires (Figure 18A).

You may choose one of several primocane-training options in the hill system or hedgerow system. Primocanes may be topped to remove the very thin top growth (in all regions), or to the trellis height of about 6 to 6.5 feet if canes are longer. In the hill system, bundle the canes and tie the bundles to the top trellis wire (Figure 25). You may also tie canes individually to the trellis wires in the hill system or in the hedgerow, as this promotes good bud break and yield.

In plantings with more vigor and where primocanes are 7 to 10 feet tall, you can choose an arc-cane training system. Slightly tip the canes in late winter to remove very thin growth. Tie the cane bundle to the top wire and loop it down, tying the end to a lower training wire or along the top wire, depending on cane length (Figure 26). You may also tie canes individually to the trellis wires in the hill system or in the hedgerow, as this promotes better bud break and yield.

Figure 25. Summer-bearing red raspberry pruning and training. Bundled and topped training in the hill system. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 26. Summer-bearing red raspberry pruning and training. Arc-cane training in the hill system. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 27. Everbearing raspberry primocanes growing. Maintain a row width of 12–18 inches by pruning the outer primocanes from each side during the growing season. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Grow everbearing red or yellow raspberries in a hedgerow. During the growing season, maintain the hedgerow to a width of 12 to 18 inches by tilling or hoeing any primocanes outside the row (Figure 27). Tuck the remaining primocanes between the trellis wires. Pruning in winter will depend on whether you are producing one or two crops per year.

If you are growing your everbearing raspberries for a double crop (floricane and primocane crop) per season, you will need to prune out the dying or dead floricanes after harvest (caning out). Cane out immediately after harvest only if there are cane diseases evident on the dying floricanes (see “Common problems”). Otherwise, leave caning out until winter so you minimize risk of damaging the primocanes, which may be flowering.

Pruning in winter involves caning out the dead floricanes (if that wasn’t done in summer) and pruning the primocanes. In the Willamette Valley or southwestern Oregon, prune any time from December through February. In colder production regions such as central, eastern and southeastern Oregon, prune as late as possible in winter to reduce the risk of winter cold injury and to remove any cold-damaged tissue (see “Common problems”).

Cane out any dead floricanes present by cutting them at their base; these canes will be shorter than the primocanes and will be dead from their tip to their base with dead fruiting laterals evident (Figure 28A). Prune the remaining primocanes by first removing any that are outside the 12- to 18-inch-wide hedgerow by cutting them at their base or tilling. Then cut out any weak, diseased or damaged primocanes that are within the hedgerow. Remove the dead tips of the remaining primocanes; these portions of the canes fruited last late summer to fall. If you don’t remove these dead tips, you will see the base of the cane produce fruiting laterals in the spring when it is a floricane (Figure 28B). In winter, cut off the dead primocane tip by pruning a couple of nodes below the dead portion (Figure 28C). Do this for all canes in the row (Figure 28D). These floricanes will produce the early summer crop. The late-summer-to-fall crop will be produced on the top portion of new primocanes that emerge.

Figure 28A. Pruning everbearing raspberries for a double crop. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 28B. This floricane was not pruned to remove the dead tip in the prior winter. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 28C. Pruning to remove the dead tip that fruited during late summer to fall. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Figure 28D. Everbearing raspberry after pruning for a double crop in winter. Photo: Bernadine Strik

You can grow everbearing raspberries for only a primocane or late-season crop. This is common when you have the space to grow both summer-bearing and everbearing raspberries. You will get a higher yield on the floricanes of summer-bearing cultivars, which is an advantage if you like to make jam or freeze fruit.

If you are only growing everbearing raspberries for a single crop, cut all the canes to just above ground level in late winter (March) (Figure 29). Primocanes will emerge in the spring. Keep the hedgerow to a width of 12 to 18 inches (Figure 27) and tuck the primocanes between the trellis wires.

Figure 29. Everbearing raspberry after pruning for a single crop. Photo: Bernadine Strik

Planting Raspberries in Our New Raised Beds! // Garden Answer

FAQ

Do raspberries grow well in raised beds?

Yes, you can grow raspberries in raised beds. It is good to till the ground first to give the roots a direction to grow towards when you add the bed on top. It is also helpful to mulch the raised bed.

What size planter box for raspberries?

Plant In Container

Choose a container (16” or larger in diameter and at least 12” deep is ideal).

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