How to Grow Raspberries UK

When to Plant Raspberries in the UK

When to plant raspberries in the UK: in Southern England, plant early December to late March. Find your area in the table below.

Region	Plant
Southern England	early December to late March
Midlands	early December to late March
Northern England	early December to late March
Scotland	early December to late March

Southern England - detail & sources

RHS: propagated across many seasons depending on method (softwood/semi-ripe spring-midsummer, hardwood winter, root cuttings autumn/winter); a winter-to-spring planting window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Midlands - detail & sources

RHS: propagated across many seasons depending on method (softwood/semi-ripe spring-midsummer, hardwood winter, root cuttings autumn/winter); a winter-to-spring planting window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Northern England - detail & sources

RHS: propagated across many seasons depending on method (softwood/semi-ripe spring-midsummer, hardwood winter, root cuttings autumn/winter); a winter-to-spring planting window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Scotland - detail & sources

RHS: propagated across many seasons depending on method (softwood/semi-ripe spring-midsummer, hardwood winter, root cuttings autumn/winter); a winter-to-spring planting window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Quick Facts

Factor	Value
Soil pH	6 - 6.7
Drainage	well-drained, moisture-retentive; intolerant of waterlogging (root rot risk)
Lifecycle	perennial (biennial canes)
Edible parts	fruit

At a Glance

Soil & Growing Conditions

Water: regular watering during dry spells, especially while fruiting; mulch to retain moisture

Soil pH range

6 6.7

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

Stage	BBCH	Notes
Planting and propagation	0	Propagated from disease-free stock by cuttings, division or layering; trained in rows using support wires (RHS).
Cane establishment	3	New canes establish, mulched with acidic material such as composted bark (RHS).
Flowering and fruiting	6	Produces edible red fruits on canes; summer types fruit on year-old wood, autumn types on new growth.
Post-harvest cane management	9	Fruited canes are removed after harvest to make way for new growth, over a 2-5 year maturation cycle (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: Fruit fully coloured and easily detaches from the plug when ripe; harvest June to October depending on variety (summer- vs autumn-fruiting types); pick on a dry day.

Storage

best eaten fresh; open-freeze on a tray then bag for longer storage

Diseases

Raspberry cane blight

Paraconiothyrium fuckelii

RHS: "Raspberry cane blight is a common and serious fungal disease of raspberries."

Grey mould

low

Botrytis cinerea

Soft brown fruit decay; Fuzzy grey-brown mould

RHS names this directly.

Honey fungus

low

Armillaria spp.

RHS names this directly.

Pests

Raspberry beetle

Byturus tomentosus

RHS: "Plants affected: Raspberry, blackberry, tayberry, loganberry." Raspberry named as the primary host.

Aphids

low

Aphididae (various spp.)

RHS names this directly.

Gall mites

low

Eriophyidae

RHS names this directly.

Nutrient Issues

Raspberry, Parent of All Cultivated Varieties

Native to Great Britain and Ireland

RHS: Rubus idaeus is native to Great Britain and Ireland, and is the parent of all cultivated raspberries.

Trained in rows using wires

RHS: raspberries are trained in rows using wires for support as canes grow.

Pale, downy leaf undersides

Raspberry leaves have a distinctive pale, slightly downy underside compared to their green upper surface.

Serrated compound leaves

Raspberry's compound leaves have sharply serrated leaflet edges.

Fruit ripens in stages

Raspberries ripen gradually, with green, red and fully ripe fruit often visible on the same plant at once.

References

1. GBIF - GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Rubus idaeus L.
2. NC State Extension - Rubus idaeus subsp. idaeus | NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
3. Oregon State University Extension Service - Growing Raspberries in Your Home Garden (EC 1306)
4. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - Rubus idaeus L. | Plants of the World Online
5. Royal Horticultural Society - How to grow raspberries
6. Royal Horticultural Society - Nutrient deficiencies

   General cross-plant guide, strawberry named explicitly under Boron.

7. Royal Horticultural Society - Raspberry Beetle: How to Prevent Damage
8. Royal Horticultural Society - Raspberry cane blight: Symptoms & Control
9. Royal Horticultural Society - Rubus idaeus | common raspberry

   A cane fruit shrub producing edible red fruits; native to Great Britain and Ireland, and the parent of all cultivated raspberries; has potential to become invasive without proper management. Hardiness H6 (thrives throughout the UK and northern Europe, even during severe winters). Full sun (tolerates light shade, with a smaller crop). Soil: loam or sand; moist but well-drained; acidic or neutral pH; mulch with acidic material such as composted bark; trained in rows using wires for support. Height 1.5-2.5m, spread 0.5-1m. Time to maturity 2-5 years. Propagated by softwood/semi-ripe cuttings (spring to midsummer), hardwood cuttings (winter), root cuttings (autumn/winter), leaf bud cuttings (mid-late summer), division, or layering (late summer to early spring) -- choose disease-free stock. Pests: aphids, leafhoppers, raspberry beetle, gall mites (also raspberry leaf and bud mite, glasshouse red spider mite). Diseases: grey moulds, raspberry cane spot, fungal leaf spot, raspberry cane blight, viruses, honey fungus (rarely).

10. World Flora Online - World Flora Online: Rubus idaeus L.

10 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.