Best Raspberry Varieties for Scotland

Raspberries are one of the easier fruits for Scotland, and they grow especially well in cooler regions. The real choice is between summer-fruiting types, which crop from their second summer, and autumn-fruiting types, which crop in their first year.

What Scotland means for the choice

All nine raspberries RHS recommends are rated H6The RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition →, hardy to -20°C, so cold doesn't separate them. What matters more is the ground. Raspberries prefer acidic soil, ideally pH 6 to 6.7, which suits much of Scotland's naturally acidic soil, but they won't tolerate waterlogging, especially in winter. In a wet Scottish winter that matters more than the variety, and on heavy or badly drained ground a raised bed is the fix. They prefer a sunny, sheltered position but give a decent crop in partial shade. The raspberry growing guide covers planting, support and pruning.

Summer-fruiting types grow to about 1.8m, need plenty of space and fruit on the previous year's stems, so you prune out the old canes after harvest. Autumn-fruiting types are smaller, usually 1.2 to 1.5m, easier to prune and suit small plots.

All nine hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGMThe RHS's Award of Garden Merit: a UK-wide trials award for reliable performance, not a Scotland-specific recommendation. Full definition →).

Summer-fruiting varieties

Glen Ample is the all-round pick: a mid-season cultivarA plant variety that arose or was bred under cultivation and is kept true by deliberate propagation, rather than a naturally occurring wild species. Full definition → with heavy yields of large, excellent-flavoured fruit, spine-free canes and good disease resistance, and it's recommended for freezing. It was bred at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, which calls it the number one variety in the UK. Glen Magna, from the same breeding programme, is a vigorous late-summer cropper with large, well-flavoured fruit over a long season. Tulameen is a late-season variety with upright, spine-free canes and a high yield of very well-flavoured berries over a long period.Octavia crops over a long summer, overlapping the start of the autumn-fruiting types, with large, uniform berries.

For earlier fruit, Malling Jewel crops from early to midsummer on compact plants, which suits a small plot, and Malling Admiral gives a heavy crop of firm, long, red berries from late July to mid-August on fairly vigorous, erect canes.

Autumn-fruiting varieties

Joan J has upright, spine-free canes and a heavy crop of large, sweet, red berries, which makes picking easier. Polka and All Gold are very alike: stout, slightly thorny canes, with the potential for two crops a year, a first from late July and the biggest in autumn. Polka's berries are large and red, with a fresh flavour and good keeping quality, and the plants need little support. All Gold's are yellow and very sweet.

Which one for your situation

• A reliable all-round summer raspberry: Glen Ample.
• Fruit in the first year, with one pruning a year: Polka or Joan J.
• Spine-free canes: Glen Ample, Tulameen or Joan J.
• A small plot: Malling Jewel, or an autumn type such as Polka or Joan J.
• Fruit as late into the year as possible: any autumn type, or Octavia among the summer ones.
• Yellow fruit: All Gold.

Watch for raspberry beetle grubs in the fruit and grey mould in wet weather. Don't plant where raspberries have grown before, as they can struggle with establishment and health problems in the same soil.

Common questions

Sources