Raspberries are part of summer and should not be missing in any home garden. If you want to plant a raspberry bush, you should find out about the different harvest times. Yellow raspberries offer a delicate change from the classic red fruits.
Which raspberry varieties are suitable for the home garden?
Various raspberry varieties are suitable for the home garden: summer raspberries such as 'Malahat' (June-July), 'Willamette' (June-July) and 'Meeker' (late June-July); autumn raspberries such as 'Polka' (August-October), 'Autumn First' (early August-late September) and 'Himbo-Top' (August-mid-October); yellow varieties such as 'Varnes', 'Fallgold' and 'Golden Queen'; as well as red summer varieties such as 'Malling Promise', 'Gradina' and 'Schönemann'.
Summer raspberries
These varieties bear fruit on previous year's shoots. Summer raspberries are single-bearing and produce high yields. Their fruits have an intense taste. Since the shoots are at risk of breaking, summer raspberries often need support. The plants are comparatively susceptible to diseases and pests.
Recommended varieties:
- 'Malahat': dark red fruits ripen between June and July
- 'Willamette': frost-resistant variety with fruit ripening from June to July
- ‘Meeker’: fruits from the end of June to July
Autumn raspberries
The varieties develop fruit on the annual shoots, which ripen from August onwards. They can be harvested until autumn. Autumn raspberries are radically cut back every year directly above the ground, which means that diseases and pests have a poorer habitat. These varieties can be cut accordingly so that they bear fruit in summer.
- Popular autumn raspberries:
- ‘Polka’: from August to October fruit with an intense taste
- ‘Autumn First’: bright red fruits between the beginning of August and the end of September
- ‘Himbo-Top’: small fruits between August and mid-October, highly aromatic
Yellow summer varieties
They develop fruit on the shoots that were formed the previous year. Therefore they are cut like summer raspberries. The color and taste of these speci alties differ from the typical raspberry varieties.
- ‘Varnes’: large orange-yellow fruits with a sweet taste
- ‘Fallgold’: very sweet raspberries, bushes produce twice a year when the weather is good
- 'Golden Queen': tasty variety with high yield and long harvest time
Red summer varieties
Within this group there are early, mid-early and late-bearing varieties that develop their fruit before the autumn raspberries. This categorization is important because all species, like summer raspberries, require care. While the early varieties bear fruit at the end of May to the beginning of June, mid-early raspberries ripen between the end of June and mid-July. Late varieties develop their fruit until August.
- 'Malling Promise': early variety that develops long fruits
- 'Gradina': medium early raspberry that produces good yields, suitable for exposed locations
- 'Schönemann': late variety with firm fruits and aromatic taste, strong growth
