Raspberry Variety Opinions Please

[Pippin]

Hi,

I have made room for two rows of raspberries. I haven`t grown them for about 15yrs so could I have your opinions on the best variety to grow these days.

How to plant and support them is not a problem I just need the benefit of your recent experiences of varieties - one early and one late fruiting.

Thanks

Pippin

[Alison]

I only grow autumn fruiting ones and for that you can't really go wrong with good old Autumn Bliss - have been reliable for years now and very easy care. Don't know about summer ones but am sure somebody here will.

[Lesley Jay]

The variety we grow is Autumn Bliss. It is a fairly common variety but we always get a really great crop of tasty, good sized fruits.

[mazel-bee]

I bought Tulameen last year, which is a summer variety. I am growing them in pots and I had a very pleasing yield. They were rather tasty too.

[Alice]

Thanks for asking that Pippin. I'm planning on some rasberries so Autumn Bliss it will be (what a lovely name). Any more suggestions for an early variety.
My OH has just said there is a raspberry which if not cut down after fruiting will give an early crop the following year. Anybody know anything about that please ?

[PAULW]

I grow Autumn Bliss and Joan J both very good but Joan J has the edge with bigger berries some people on the lottie thought they were Loganberries. I have 10 Joan J and 14 Autumn Bliss canes and had over 40 lb of fruit from them at the peak of production I was picking 2 kilo of fruit a day.

[pigletwillie]

I have 3 rows of Autumn blisss which were so productive that I grubbed up 1 row of summer fruiting raspers to make way for Blueberries. To be honest the last row of summer ones may get replaced with either Autumn bliss or Joan J this season as they are so prolific and less time consuming.

[valmarg]

We grew Joan J for the first time last year and can recommend them, lovely big juicy very good flavoured fruits. It's the first time we've grown an autumn fruiting variety.

OH was looking (I think on the RHS website) for information on how to treat autumn varieties. The advice on the site, was to cut down to ground level, but if you wanted earlier raspberies, to cut half the row down by about half, and the remaining plants down to the ground. The 'half cut' ones would start fruiting earlier. The next year you cut the 'half cut' canes down to the ground, and the others by about half, thereby prolonging the season.

I think that's something like what your OH must have read about Alice.

valmarg

[Lesley Jay]

As I said we grow Autumn Bliss but two years ago we were going to buy some Joan J canes because everyone was raving about them. As someone on our allotment site already grew them we did a blind taste testing. Autumn Bliss won.

The way they are grown, soil type, water etc. all make a difference I believe to the fruit. We stuck with Autumn Bliss.

[pigletwillie]

We grow for taste and not necesarilly yield or size as well Lesley, I will trial a few to see if there is any difference.

[roitelet]

Hi Pipin, I don't know anything about raspberry varieties but here is something about what I did to support them. My canes were given to me by a friend and they produce large super flavoured fruit.

Two posts about 6 - 7ft high sunk in the ground and well packed in with stones to support them. If the row is long you can always put another in the middle to hold the wires. The height of the posts above ground should be governed by your height, you don't want to have to get a ladder out to pick your crop I'm a shortie!

On the inside of the posts you will need a diagonal brace to stop the wires pulling the posts towards each other. Stretch three wires between the posts and fix them firmly, I drilled holes in the posts , theaded the wires through and fixed them with staples on the outside. French Telecom very kindly left me l huge roll of wire when they finally installed the line, it only took them a year

The first wire should be about 12 - 18 ins above the ground and the others evenly spaced. If the canes get taller thatn the top wire you can aways bend them down and tie them to the top wire, rope fashion. My book says that it increases the yield, we shall see!

I will try and post you some pictures if I can get the hang of it.

Enjoy the ''fruits of your labour.

[shirley]

Hi
I have autumn bliss as well as summer, can't quite remember the name. I think it's glen moy. I must say flavour is different between to two varieties and the summer fruiting are larger.
I love raspberries so that is why I extend the season with both. I end up making jam at the end of the season with the last of the autumn raspberries.

Never tried the yellow/golden variety

[SueA]

I've got 'All Gold' autumn raspberries in a large tub & they were lovely last year & a bit different as they are yellow.

[Pippin]

Thanks for taking the time to post Roitelet and everyone else too - very helpful.

As for taking photo`s R - see my post at the following thread:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ed=1#post64163

I think you will find it quite easy using the web based free service that I have left a link to under my photo of tomatoes.

Pippin

[roitelet]

Hi Pippin,

Thanks for the link. I use Picassa and think that I have just about got the hang of it. Here goes :-

Good heavens it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!