Raspberry ‘Heritage’

Raspberry 'Heritage' (Rubus idaeus 'Heritage') is the variety to plant if you want fruit in your first year. It is a primocane type, meaning it crops on canes grown in the same season, so a spring planting can give you berries by autumn. Canes reach about 1.8m tall and each plant takes up roughly a metre of row. The fruit is firm, deep red and holds its shape well.

Why you'll love it

• Fruit in the first season. Because it crops on new canes, a plant put in during spring generally produces its first pick that autumn rather than a year later.
• Simple pruning. Primocane raspberries can be cut to the ground each winter, with no sorting of old canes from new.
• Firm, freezer friendly fruit. Heritage berries hold together when picked and frozen, so a heavy crop keeps.
• It fits a small garden. At 1.8m tall and a metre wide it grows against a fence, along a path or in a large pot.
• Safe around pets. Raspberry foliage and fruit are not toxic to cats or dogs.

Where it works best

A dedicated berry bed. Plant 60cm apart in rows, with about 1.5m between rows so you can pick from both sides. Two wires strung between end posts at 60cm and 1.2m keep the canes upright and the fruit clean.

Small gardens and pots. A single row against a sunny fence takes almost no width, and a pot 500mm or wider with three canes works on a courtyard while containing the suckers completely.

Growing raspberries in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with shelter from strong wind. This is a cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean crop. It is frost hardy and needs winter cold, so subtropical and tropical gardens give poor results.

Soil. Free draining, slightly acidic and rich in organic matter. Dig plenty of compost through the bed before planting and mulch 75mm deep with straw or sugar cane. It copes with poor soil but crops far better without having to.

Water and feed. Consistent moisture from flowering to harvest decides the size of the berries, so water deeply twice a week in summer. Feed with compost and a complete fertiliser in early spring, then again as the fruit sets.

Pruning. The easy method is to cut every cane to ground level in winter. You lose the small early summer crop and gain one heavy, clean autumn crop with no disease carried over.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes as tube stock or in packs of ten 140mm plants. Both are young plants with one or two short canes, not the tall canes you see at picking time, and both build a full crown in their first season. The pack of ten fills six metres of row at 60cm spacing.

Canes can arrive looking sparse or leafless depending on the season, which is normal for a plant that dies back and reshoots. Plant into prepared soil, water in, and expect new canes from the base within four to six weeks. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full range of edible plants for the kitchen garden.
• Find a container in plants for pots if you are growing on a balcony.
• Read about growing a successful fruit and vegetable garden.

Common questions

When will I get fruit?

A spring planting usually crops in its first autumn, because Heritage fruits on canes produced in the same season. The first crop is light. From the second year you can expect a proper harvest.

Does it spread?

Yes. Raspberries send up suckers and will move outwards a metre or more a year if left alone. Plant it where that is welcome, install a root barrier, or grow it in a large pot.

Do the canes need support?

At 1.8m they do. A simple two wire trellis or a row of stakes keeps the canes upright, stops them arching into the path and keeps the fruit clean and easy to pick.