How far apart to plant raspberries
Set red raspberries 2 to 3 feet apart in the row, with rows 8 to 10 feet apart, as NC State Extension's small fruit chapter gives it. Black raspberries go 2 1/2 feet apart. Purple raspberries are the largest and get 3 feet in the row and 12 feet between rows, per Ohio State University Extension. Colorado State University Extension uses the same 2 to 3 feet in the row with rows 5 to 10 feet apart for a home garden.
The calculator opens at 2.5 ft, the middle of the red raspberry range. Pick black or purple in the variety menu to switch.
How many raspberry plants for a row or bed
| Space | Red or black, 2.5 ft | Purple, 3 ft |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft row | 4 | 3 |
| 25 ft row | 10 | 8 |
| 50 ft row | 20 | 16 |
| 100 ft row | 40 | 33 |
| 4 × 8 ft bed | 3 | 2 |
| 4 × 12 ft bed | 4 | 4 |
Counts keep half a spacing clear at each end, the way the calculator counts. Choose Row or hedge in the calculator for a row, or Bed for a raised bed.
A plant count is only the start. Red raspberries send up suckers that fill the row, and Colorado State keeps the hedgerow no more than 2 feet wide at ground level, thinning to five or six of the strongest canes per foot of row. Ohio State grows black and purple raspberries in a hill system instead, each plant kept as its own clump.
Red, black or purple?
- Red: NC State sets them 2 to 3 inches deeper than they grew in the nursery. Colorado State cuts the tops back to 4 to 6 inches at planting.
- Black: set at the same depth they grew in the nursery, NC State says. Ohio State tips new shoots by 2 to 3 inches once they reach 24 inches tall.
- Purple: the widest spacing; Ohio State tips them at 30 inches.
Summer-bearing raspberries fruit once a season on second-year canes. Fall-bearing types such as 'Heritage' fruit on the upper part of first-year canes, and Colorado State notes Heritage can give a summer and a fall crop depending on how you prune.
Support and yield
Colorado State stretches a wire on each side of the hedgerow 3 feet above the ground to hold the canes in and make picking easier. Under good conditions it expects 15 to 20 lb of fruit a year from a 25 ft row of red raspberries; NC State gives 2 to 4 lb per plant. Plant in early spring: Ohio State prefers it to fall planting.
Next steps
To work out how many plants your household needs, see raspberry plants per person. For other berries, compare strawberry spacing and blueberry spacing.