How to grow Raspberry in Australia

Where to plant

Choose a sunny spot sheltered from strong and hot winds. Agriculture Victoria notes that raspberries need deep, well drained soil, do not tolerate heavy clay, shallow soil or long dry spells, and that hot winds badly damage new growth. On heavy soil, plant on a raised row, because wet roots lead to Phytophthora root rot.

Frost and snow do not harm dormant canes. Winter chill is what matters: summer fruiting varieties need a cold winter to break dormancy evenly in spring, so Agriculture Victoria rates them unsuited to coastal temperate areas and the subtropics, while autumn fruiting varieties need less chill and crop in warm temperate areas. Avoid ground where tomatoes, potatoes or eggplant grew recently, as they host verticillium wilt, which also attacks raspberries.

• Hobart, Canberra, Melbourne and the Adelaide Hills: every type grows well, and summer fruiting varieties give the heaviest crops.
• Sydney and the Adelaide and Perth plains: grow autumn fruiting types such as Heritage, with afternoon shade and shelter from hot winds. Summer types suit the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands and the Perth Hills.
• South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers: marginal. Try Heritage with afternoon shade; the Granite Belt, Toowoomba and the tablelands suit raspberries far better.
• North Queensland and Darwin: not suited. Grow native raspberry (Rubus probus), a Queensland rainforest species, instead.

Choosing a variety

There are two kinds. Summer fruiting (floricane) varieties fruit in early summer on canes that grew the year before. Autumn fruiting (primocane) varieties fruit from late summer into autumn on canes that grew the same season, and are the easier choice in warmer areas.

• Heritage: the first raspberry bred for an autumn crop. Agriculture Victoria says it crops reliably from late February even in cool seasons, though the flavour is mild and the berries get smaller late in the season.
• Willamette: a summer fruiting variety with large, dark red berries. Agriculture Victoria notes it is the only raspberry grown in Australia that is immune to raspberry bushy dwarf virus.
• Autumn Bliss: an autumn fruiting variety with a compact habit, good for small gardens and large pots.
• Buy certified canes from a nursery rather than suckers from an old patch, as viruses travel with old plants.

How to plant

1. Set up the support first: a strong post at each end of the row with a wire at about 60 cm and another at about 1.2 m, or a pair of wires either side so the canes grow between them.
2. Dig in compost, and on heavy soil build a raised row about 20 to 30 cm high.
3. Plant bare rooted canes in winter, about 30 to 50 cm apart along the row, at the depth they grew before or a few centimetres deeper, with the roots spread out.
4. Water in well and mulch with straw or chipped bark, keeping mulch off the cane bases.
5. Cut newly planted canes back to about 20 cm so the plant puts its energy into roots and new canes.

Watering and feeding

Raspberries have shallow roots and need steady moisture from spring to the end of harvest. Agriculture Victoria stresses this for autumn fruiting types, because their fruit ripens after the soil has had all summer to dry out. Water deeply once or twice a week in dry weather; a drip line under mulch keeps the roots moist and the fruit dry.

Feed in early spring with compost and a balanced organic fertiliser such as pelletised poultry manure or blood and bone. Autumn fruiting types crop over a long season and benefit from a light second feed in early summer. Too much nitrogen gives soft, leafy canes.

Pruning and care through the year

• Summer fruiting types: straight after harvest, cut the canes that fruited down to the ground. Keep the strongest new canes, spaced about 10 to 15 cm apart, and tie them to the wires for next year.
• Autumn fruiting types: the simplest method is to cut every cane to the ground in winter, in June or July. New canes come up in spring and fruit from late summer.
• Raspberries sucker freely. Agriculture Victoria recommends keeping autumn fruiting rows to a band about 15 to 20 cm wide, so hoe out suckers beyond it; an open row dries quickly after rain and has less disease.
• Net the row as the fruit colours, because birds find ripe raspberries quickly.
• If a patch becomes weak or its fruit turns crumbly, replace it with fresh certified canes in a new spot.

Harvesting

Summer fruiting varieties ripen from about December into January, and autumn fruiting types from late February until the cold weather. Pick when the berries are fully coloured and slip off the white core with a gentle pull, every two or three days, in the cool of the morning.

Raspberries are very perishable. Keep them in the fridge unwashed and eat them within a day or two, or freeze them spread on a tray and bag them once frozen.

Growing in pots

Autumn fruiting varieties suit a pot at least 40 cm wide and deep, filled with quality potting mix, with a stake or small frame. Water often in summer, feed lightly every few weeks while fruiting, and cut all the canes to the ground in winter. Repot into fresh mix every two or three years.

Propagation

Raspberries spread by suckers from the roots. In winter, dig a healthy sucker with a piece of root attached and replant it. Only take suckers from vigorous plants that crop well, because viruses pass to the new plant.