Home Fruit Gardens: Raspberry Varieties for Pennsylvania

Red Raspberries (Summer fruiting)

Early Season

Boyne: Very winter hardy and productive. Berries are dark red and small to medium-sized. Plants are naturally short.

Prelude: Produces a light fall crop on primocanes, with most of the fruit produced in summer. In warmer areas and during warmer falls, more fall fruit is produced, limiting the summer crop. Berries are dark red, small to medium size, and mildly flavored. Preferred by Japanese beetles. Canes are very dense.

Mid-season

Killarney: An old cold-hardy variety. Fruit is light-colored and sweet, and small to medium in size. Needs trellis support.

Latham: An older variety with excellent cold hardiness. While powdery mildew susceptible, the plant tolerates viruses fairly well. Fruit flavor is acceptable, firmness good, and it has a relatively long bearing season. Berry size is small to medium.

Nova: Produces a small fall crop on primocanes, but most of its fruit during the summer. Fruit is medium to large and firm with very good flavor. Fruit must be fully ripe in order to release from the receptacle. Fruit ripens gradually over a long harvest season. Nearly thornless. Good vigor and winter hardiness. Resistant to cane diseases and late leaf rust.

Late-season

Encore: A late-season variety with large berries that have good flavor. Plants can be winter-damaged. Canes are nearly spineless.

K-81-6: Berries are large with very good flavor. Winter hardy. Will need trellising as plants can get very tall.  Susceptible to fire blight.

Red Raspberries (Primocane Fruiting)

Bloom in mid-summer, and depending on variety begins fruiting in August or September. Plants continue to bear fruit until the first heavy frost or freeze.

Early – ripening about 2-3 weeks ahead of Heritage

Caroline: Produces dense stands of canes of various heights, and has a long harvest season. Berries are medium in size with excellent flavor. Generally very productive.

Joan J: Fruit is medium in size, glossy, and dark red with fair flavor. Canes are spineless and plants are vigorous and productive.

Polana: A pretty berry with mild flavor. Fruit is conic in shape and bright red. Susceptible to phytophthora root rot so be sure to plant in a well-drained area.

Polka: Large firm fruit with good flavor. Fruit is conic in shape and bright red. Attractive to Japanese beetles and potato leafhoppers.

Mid-season – ripening within a week of Heritage

Heritage: The traditional standard fall-bearing variety. Medium-sized firm fruit with excellent quality. Season begins in late August in Pennsylvania and continues through severe frost or freeze. The fruit tolerate light frosts well. Plants are very vigorous and sucker well. Plantings are durable and longer-lived than with other varieties.

Crimson Knight: Fruit is medium to large in size and very dark with good flavor. Plants are shorter and more compact than usual and have potential as an ornamental.

Late season – ripening 2-3 weeks after Heritage

Nantahala: Produces large light-colored berries with excellent intense flavor. Produces very late so best suited for warmer locations.

Crimson Treasure:  Bright red fruit is very large.  Yields are high as long as there is sufficient time in the season for them to ripen.  

Gold raspberries (Primocane-bearing)

Anne: A very late berry that ripens 2-3 weeks after Heritage. Fruit is large and firm with excellent unique flavor having overtones of banana. Plants send up relatively sparse canes, so should be planted closer together than usual (16-18 inches apart in the row). Produces a nice summer crop if canes are retained.

Double Gold: Very flavorful tender berries with a peach-colored blush. Is so-named because it is suited to producing both a fall and summer crop. Fall crop is quite late. Resistant to Phytophthora root rot.

Fall Gold: Fruit is soft and extremely flavorful, sometimes developing a reddish blush, and has excellent flavor. Very winter-hardy.

Black raspberries (Summer-fruiting)

Bristol: An excellent-quality, early berry borne on a vigorous plant. Plants are cold hardy and very productive. Plants are very susceptible to anthracnose.

Jewel: The most commonly-grown black raspberry variety. It is more vigorous, has larger fruit, and has better overall disease resistance than 'Bristol.'

Mac Black: Extends the black raspberry production season by 7 to 10 days. Canes are vigorous and stocky. Fruit is large and seeds are also larger.

Black raspberries (Primocane-fruiting)

Niwot: The only black raspberry variety that is primocane-fruiting. Plant can also produce a nice summer crop, resulting in the term "double-cropping". Berries are large and fairly seedy. Double receptacles are sometimes formed, causing berries to separate into two halves when harvested – a trait which is thought to be related to hot temperatures.

Purple Raspberries

Bloom in June, harvested in late July to mid-August in central Pennsylvania. Generally fruit after red raspberries.

Brandywine: A round tart reddish-purple fruit. It is very vigorous, with good winter hardiness and fruit firmness. Vigorous with noticeable thorns. Susceptible to crown gall.

Royalty: Cone-shaped very large fruit that is sweeter than 'Brandywine.' Fruit is too soft for shipping, although it can be picked early for this purpose. It suckers freely from roots, so it grows more like a red raspberry in hedgerows. It is resistant to raspberry aphid, which spreads some viruses. Susceptible to crown gall.

Glencoe: Though released in 1989, this variety has only recently received attention in the U.S. for home gardens. Fruit is medium-sized, firm, and has intense flavor.