You can grow two varieties of cultivated wild raspberry—summer-fruiting and ever-bearing—right in your backyard. Similar to strawberries, summer-fruiting raspberry bushes produce a crop of berries once during the summer, whereas ever-bearing bushes produce berries all summer and into the fall. The best time to plant wild raspberry is during the early spring, after the last frost, and when the soil is workable. Healthy bushes can grow as big as three to nine feet tall and wide and bear ripe fruit starting at the end of the season or in their second year of growth, depending on the variety.
Light
Wild raspberry grows best in a sunny location that is partially shaded. This plant requires 6 to 8 hours of sunlight during the growing season and can become sunburned during periods of hot, direct sun. This condition appears as white spots on some of the red berries. However, a little sunburn won’t affect the quality of the fruit, only its appearance.
Soil
Wild red raspberry loves fertile, well-drained slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Poor soil conditions can be improved by adding organic material, such as manure or compost, just before planting. Planting wild raspberry in raised beds also helps with drainage to avoid root rot. Wild red raspberry does not tolerate overly wet or heavy clay soil.
Water
Wild raspberry needs consistent water in order to produce juicy berries. In fact, it prefers about an inch of rainfall or water (drip irrigation is best) once a week during its growing season. During the first year, pay particular attention to the amount of water your plants receive as they establish themselves and then supplement when needed. Adding an inexpensive rain gauge to your garden will help you monitor rainfall amounts. Raspberries are susceptible to a variety of fungi, so make sure to water them from below. If possible, install a drip irrigation system. Wet foliage encourages fungal diseases—and watering close to the soil avoids this issue. Fungus does not grow on dry foliage.
Temperature and Humidity
Wild raspberry is native to cooler regions and prefers moderate temperatures and humidity levels. In fact, when temperatures are too high, photosynthesis can come to a halt. This plant grows best with summer temperatures between 70 to 75 degrees Farhenheit. In warmer climates, make sure the planting location receives morning sun and afternoon shade to help regulate temperature.
Fertilizer
Raspberry plants are heavy feeders. If soil is rich and fertile, your raspberries will thank you with an abundance of berries. Providing them with a fertile environment might require working compost and well-composted manure into the soil at planting time to improve soil structure and provide nutrients. For naturally alkaline soil, work in humus, peat, and pine needles to increase acidity levels. Once established, an annual treatment of well-composted manure (50 to 100 pounds per 100 feet of row) combined with cottonseed meal, langbeinite, and rock phosphate should do the trick. Do this only once before June for established plants and twice during the first year for new plants.
Types of Wild Raspberry
Two notable varieties of wild red raspberry bushes are the summer-fruiting and ever-bearing types of raspberries. Some gardeners are drawn to the ever-bearing variety because, once established, this type of raspberry plant will bear fruit in early summer and then again in the fall.
Summer-fruiting: These raspberry bushes produce one crop each year in the summer. Once established, the summer-fruiting variety will bear fruit during the second year (and from there on after) on woody second-year branches called floricanes.Ever-bearing: These raspberry bushes produce two crops a season, creating a small crop of berries in June, and then yielding a larger crop in September. This bush produces berries in the very first year on this years green canes called primocanes.
Pruning
Knowing what variety of wild raspberry bush you have is important when it comes to pruning because summer-fruiting and ever-bearing varieties require different pruning methods to maximize berry yield. Either way, yearly trimming will help plants stay healthy no matter the type of raspberry variety. Here’s how to prune your raspberry plants depending on type:
Summer-fruiting: Because this variety only produces fruit on woody floricanes, be sure not to prune your primocanes because they will produce berries the following year. Floricanes, develop a brown, almost woody appearance while primocanes are always bright green. Once your floricanes have produced their fruit for the year, they will begin to die off. When this happens, clip away the old branches to keep your plant healthy and manageable.Everbearing: There are two possible pruning methods for this type of raspberry depending on the results you want. The first method involves pruning off the canes as soon as they are done producing fruit. If you choose this method, you might not get a small crop next spring but a larger crop will be produced in the fall. The second method calls for leaving the canes on the bush until the next summer, potentially yielding two crops: one on the floricanes and the other on the primocanes. If you choose this method, be sure to prune your floricanes in late winter or early spring to keep them clean and ready for new growth.
Propagating Wild Raspberry
Mature wild raspberry bushes tend to sprout little plants which pop out of the ground some distance away from the mother plant. These baby plants are called suckers. Suckers can be dug up and used to start a new raspberry patch. Here’s how to propagate wild raspberry from suckers:
How to Grow Wild Raspberry From Seed
Raspberry seeds are best planted in the fall, as the cold winter weather fosters spring germination. Start seeds in a tray placed outdoors to mimic the overwintering of seeds that have fallen to the ground (stratification). You can also place the seeds in the refrigerator for the same effect. Here’s how to grow wild raspberry from seed:
Overwintering
Some cold-climate gardeners choose to provide extra protection for their raspberries in the winter. For summer-fruiting varieties, prune the producing floricanes after harvest, and trim the primocanes back to three feet tall. Gently bend the young canes to the ground and cover them with three inches of soil to protect them from winter damage. Come spring, remove the soil and fluff the canes with gloved hands. Everbearing varieties do better in extremely cold climates and can be overwintered by simply covering the canes (old and new) with soil, as you would with summer-fruiting varieties. This method will preserve both harvests. However, a simpler method is to cut the old floricanes, forego the soil mound, and allow only new canes to sprout next season. You’ll sacrifice the first crop if you choose this method, but the second crop will be bigger.
Common Pests & Plant Diseases
Like most fruit, certain pests love wild raspberries and a few diseases can creep into a neglected patch. Birds can quickly wipe out your harvest of ripe berries. To keep them at bay, place bird netting over your plants. While unsightly, the netting can be removed once the harvest is over. Aphids, Japanese beetles, and raspberry fruitworm beetles can move into a raspberry patch. It’s best to pick them off by hand and place them into a jar of soapy water to kill them quickly. To control aphids, try introducing their natural predator—ladybugs—to eradicate the population or spray a soap and water mixture or neem oil concoction onto the plants. Avoid using insecticides on edible berries, as you may harm yourself, alongside beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies. Spur blight, anthracnose, and cane blight are among the fungal diseases that can move into a wild raspberry patch. To prevent this, make sure to always prune away sickly-looking canes and be sure not to splash water onto the leaves of your plant while watering, as these diseases are spread by splashing water. Often, removing diseased canes or whole plants to increase your patch’s airflow will rectify the situation.
Common Problems with Wild Raspberry
A patch of untended raspberries can grow unruly after only a few seasons. And, these fruiting plants tend to perform poorly under crowded conditions when they don’t have sufficient airflow nor enough room to thrive. Make sure to thin canes each spring to eight inches apart to avoid this situation. Sunscald can also affect the color of the raspberry fruit. If the sun-exposed side of the berry turns white, it could be suffering from white druplet disorder. This condition does not harm the fruit or the plant and simply providing some shade can prevent this predicament.
