Raspberry cultivars for the Pacific Northwest

Red raspberries

Red raspberries (Rubus idaeus) are native to northern North America and Eurasia. Cultivated red raspberries were introduced into the United States as long ago as 1771.

Red raspberries produce new canes from buds on roots and from the crown. In the first year, canes are called primocanes. In the second year, they are called floricanes. Canes are pruned out after their second year. Both primocanes and floricanes are present during the growing season.

There are two types of red raspberries. In floricane-fruiting (summer-bearing) cultivars, the second-year floricanes bear a crop in early summer and the first-year primocanes are vegetative only. Primocane-fruiting (fall-bearing) cultivars produce a significant amount of fruit at the top of the primocanes in the fall. The easiest way to manage primocane-fruiting raspberries is to cut the primocanes to the ground each winter after fruiting. If you keep them for the second year, however, they will produce a crop on the floricanes the next summer. Because primocane-fruiting types can be double cropped, they sometimes are called everbearing raspberries. Red raspberry cultivars are listed in Tables 1 and 2.

Black raspberries

Black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis), sometimes called blackcaps, are native from the Northeast to the Great Plains. The native western black raspberry is R. leucodermis.

Black raspberries produce canes only from the crown, not from the roots. Tip primocanes in summer to encourage branching. These canes produce fruit the following year.

In the early 1900s, there were dozens of black raspberry cultivars, and new cultivars were released until about the 1960s. Until recently, there has been little breeding work on black raspberries, and only a handful of cultivars are now commonly available. In the Northwest, nearly the entire commercial crop is ‘Munger’, a cultivar released in 1890. Black raspberry cultivars are listed in Table 3.

Purple raspberries

Purple raspberries are a hybrid between black and red raspberries. They tend to be vigorous, crown-forming plants with large, soft fruit. Purple raspberries are generally considered to have only fair quality for fresh use, but they are excellent for processing. Purple raspberry cultivars are listed in Table 4.

Cultivar table notes

Tables 1–4 list floricane-fruiting and primocane-fruiting raspberries, black raspberries, and purple raspberries. The descriptions are intended to serve only as a guide in choosing a cultivar that’s appropriate for your needs. Performance often varies with location.

Not all of the listed cultivars are available in nurseries; however, these are included in the tables because plants are long lived, and established plantings of older cultivars still exist.

Disease issues

Most raspberry cultivars are sensitive to Phytophthora root rot; this disease is a much greater problem in Oregon and southern Washington than in northern Washington and British Columbia. Grow raspberries on very welldrained soils and on raised beds or ridges (about 12 to 18 inches high) to promote drainage.

Raspberry bushy dwarf virus is a pollen-borne virus (carried by bees); the primary symptom is crumbly fruit. Usually a raspberry plant infected with RBDV looks normal and is neither bushy nor dwarf. There are no control measures for this virus other than to replant with virus-free stock and choose resistant cultivars. In Tables 1 and 2, assume cultivars are susceptible to RBDV unless otherwise noted.

Strawberry necrotic shock virus is another pollen-borne virus that contributes to crumbly fruit. Both red and black raspberries are susceptible to SNSV, but black raspberries succumb to the disease much faster. Some black raspberry fields have been observed to be mostly infected with SNSV within the first two to three years of planting.

Fruit descriptions and yield

Descriptions of yield and berry size are primarily based on results of trials by the USDAARS/OSU cooperative breeding program at the OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, Oregon, and the Washington State University breeding program in Puyallup, Washington. If a cultivar has not been tested at these sites, yield and berry descriptions are based on grower experience. Yield ratings are based on comparison to other cultivars of the same type. Red raspberries are generally more productive than black raspberries.

Use

Most berries sold in the fresh market are hand harvested, firm, and bright red. They have a shelf life of several days if properly handled and refrigerated. Berries grown for processing are machine harvested and have intense red color and flavor.

Machine harvest

Cultivars adapted to machine harvest have good plant architecture, easy fruit release from the receptacle when the berry is ripe, and fruit that is firm enough for individually quick frozen markets. Machine-harvested fruit will not store for more than a few hours after harvest.

Fruiting lateral characteristics are important for machine harvesting. They must be strong and flexible enough to not break off during harvest and also be short enough to avoid becoming entangled in machine harvester rods. Entanglement can lead to breakage, contamination of harvested fruit loads and yield reduction.

Commercial production

A commercial value score is provided to help commercial growers select appropriate cultivars for fresh and processed markets:

1. Appropriate for most commercial operations
2. May have commercial value but:
   1. Not enough is known about its performance, or
   2. May meet a specific requirement (for example, unique color or early harvest) but has a negative trait such as low yield or poor shipping quality)
3. Unlikely to have good commercial value

Small farm, U-pick and home gardens

Cultivars that are well-suited to small farms, local sales, U-pick farms, and home gardens are noted as such. However, we advise home gardeners not to grow cultivars that are susceptible to root rot west of the Cascades, except where there is good drainage.

Cold hardiness

Cold hardiness is indicated if information is available. Grow only cold-hardy cultivars east of the Cascades. Primocane-fruiting raspberries can be grown in most cold regions if only a primocane, and not the floricane, crop is produced. Many cultivars from eastern U.S. nurseries might be well adapted to Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington and Idaho.

For more information

• Commercial red raspberry production in the Pacific Northwest (PNW 598). Oregon State University Extension.
• Growing raspberries in your home garden (EC 1306). Oregon State University Extension.