Growing Raspberry in Australia: The Complete Guide
Raspberry is an easy to moderate berry to grow, needing full–part sun with regular, even watering.
If you're thinking about adding raspberry to the homestead, here's the real detail behind our printable guide — what it actually takes to grow it well in an Australian garden.
Trained on wires
Raspberries throw up new canes each year from spreading roots — training them onto horizontal wires keeps the patch tidy and makes picking far easier.
How to Plant Raspberry
Method — plant bare-root canes against a wire support system. Soil — rich, well-drained, high organic matter. Timing — plant in winter while dormant.
Keeping It Growing Well
The key things to get right:
- Train new canes onto wires as they grow.
- Water regularly, especially through fruit development.
- Prune out spent canes after fruiting (for summer-fruiting types) or cut back hard in winter (for autumn-fruiting types).
- Mulch to retain moisture and suppress competing suckers.
What Can Go Wrong
A few things matter most here:
- Cane spot — purple spotting on canes; remove and destroy affected canes.
- Birds — net as fruit ripens.
- Root rot — from poor drainage; ensure it's not sitting wet.
- Suckering beyond bounds — contain the bed or remove unwanted suckers.
Picking and Keeping Your Harvest
Signs — full colour, comes away from the core easily. Method — pick gently, leaving the white core on the plant. Curing — none needed. Storage — fridge a couple of days; freezes very well.
That's the full picture behind raspberry. The printable A4 version of this guide — with the quick-reference gauges and diagram in one page — is available on the main guide page below.