When you’re adding new plants to your garden, you have to think about what you’re looking for. Maybe you’d like to plant something just to add some color to your garden, or maybe you want something that can produce food for you to harvest. If you want the best of both worlds, the search can be trickier. Luckily, there’s a plant out there that marries those two principles perfectly: raspberries. Learn how to choose a raspberry plant for your garden so that you can produce and harvest this delicious, eye-popping fruit right in your own backyard.
CONSIDER THE COLOR
Raspberries are known for their candy red color. However, not all raspberries are red. This delicious fruit can come in black, yellow, or even purple; each variety differs in a few ways. For instance, red raspberries are usually larger in size, while black and purple raspberries tend to be smaller. The color of the raspberry also tells how you’ll need to plant them. For instance, red and yellow raspberries grow by spreading runners in your garden. Runners are stems that, when spread across your garden, will produce suckers. These suckers are vertical shoots that become the root cuttings from which your raspberries will grow. Black and purple raspberries, on the other hand, will grow from plants that grow with side shoots. Upon growth, black and purple raspberry plants will remain a single plant.
CONSIDER THE SEASON
As with anything in your garden, you have to plant it during the right season. Summer-bearing crops will produce berries at the beginning of summer, specifically during May and June. If you want to harvest berries a bit later in the year, you can plant fall-bearing crops that will produce berries during the late summer or fall seasons.
CONSIDER THE CLIMATE
Different varieties of raspberry plants thrive better in specific climates. For instance, Autumn Bliss plants thrive better in hotter climates, while Heritage plants are better for colder climates. Finding the right berry for your climate is integral to ensuring a good growth rate and lifespan.
Now that you’ve learned how to choose a raspberry plant, you can add a colorful, flavorful new plant to your garden. If you know how to properly plant, grow, and harvest raspberries, you can provide yourself and your loved ones with natural, delicious food without ever having to visit the grocery store. Visit the Gentleman’s Backyard Garden to find and buy raspberry plants best-suited for your garden.