"Natural Healing with Herbs for a Healthier You"

Red raspberry, or Rubus idaeus, is cultivated and grows wild throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.  There are many different species of raspberry.  Most information on raspberry does not seem to distinguish species.  The plant stands about 6 feet tall.  It may be vining or shrubby but tends to grow in thickets.  The leaves are alternate compound with serrated edges with leaflets in three or five.  Flowers are typically white with 5 petals and 5 sepals.  There are 60-90 stamens.  The fruit is an aggregate drupelet.  The flowers 5 part flowers and the serrate ovate leaflets place raspberry in the Rosaceae family. 

 

There are two general types of raspberry.  Both produce biennial canes, One produces the cane and leaves the first year and the flowers and fruit the second year, dying back shortly after the harvest.  The other type is considered everbearing.  The cane produces fruit the first year near the top of the cane.  The second year, it produces fruit on the rest of the cane and then dies back. 

 

Although raspberry is native to the United States, it is often cultivated.  It is propagated by root softwood cuttings or hardwood cuttings.  Raspberry likes to grow in full sun or in dappled shade.  It likes moderately fertile well-drained soil.  Ideally the soil should not have recently grown tomatoes, eggplants, or potatoes.  Raspberries can be grown in hedgerows with wire or twine to maintain their space.  Suckers should not be pinched off during the growing season because this encourages side growth, which could interfere with the hedgerow.  The first year canes should be pruned in the middle of the winter to about five feet to allow for good height when the fruit bears as well as to prevent the canes from bending and breaking under the weight of the berries.  It is important to thin out weak or broken canes in the winter and to cut back dead canes next to the ground as soon as the harvest is over to prevent disease.