Growing raspberries in containers is an excellent option for gardeners short on space. With the right care, these berries produce just as well in pots as in the ground
When provided with ample sunlight, rich soil, frequent watering, and proper support, raspberry canes will reward you with sweet, juicy fruits perfect for snacking, baking, jams, and more.
Here is an inspiring photo gallery of raspberries flourishing in pots. These images showcase how with a little effort, anyone can cultivate a container crop of delicious raspberries.
Summer and Fall Cropping Raspberry Varieties
Raspberries come in two main types – summer bearing and fall bearing. Summer raspberries produce one crop on two year old canes in mid to late summer. Fall bearers yield a crop on first year canes in late summer through fall.
Popular summer varieties include:
- Meeker – large, firm, sweet berries in midsummer
- Tulameen – large, conical berries ripen early
- Willamette – medium berries with excellent sweet flavor
Top fall cropping varieties are:
- Autumn Bliss – high yields of large berries in early fall
- Caroline – very hardy and productive fall bearer
- Heritage – extremely flavorful berries in early autumn
Both summer and fall types grow well in containers. Choose disease resistant, compact varieties under 5 feet tall.
![Red raspberries growing in a ceramic pot][]
Red raspberries thriving in a ceramic pot
Different Types of Raspberry Fruits
While red is the most familiar, raspberries actually come in a rainbow of fruit colors. Yellow, black, purple and even golden white varieties exist.
- Red – Most common type with sweet, juicy berries
- Black – Firm, plump, flavorful purple-black fruits
- Yellow – Very sweet, low acid yellow or golden berries
- Purple – Vivid reddish-purple hue and mild taste
- White – Subtle sweet flavor and pale pinkish-yellow fruits
All these different raspberry types grow well in containers. Expand your color palette!![Yellow raspberries ripening in a pot][]
Yellow raspberries ripening in a pot
Ideal Pot Sizes for Raspberry Plants
Give raspberries room to spread their roots for best growth. For 3-4 canes use at least a 12” diameter, 10” deep pot. For 5-6 canes, a 14” wide, 12” deep container is ideal.
Bigger is better, so use the largest pot you can fit. Half whiskey barrels work well. Container depth of at least 12 inches is recommended.
Terracotta and ceramic offer nice decorative options. Just watch soil moisture closely as terracotta dries out quicker.![Raspberries planted in a terra cotta pot][]
Terracotta pot grown raspberries
Providing Sturdy Support for Raspberry Canes
Raspberries need support to keep canes upright and prevent breakage under fruit weight. Shorter varieties only require a central stake. Taller plants need a trellis or wire cage.
Use bamboo, wood or metal stakes at least 5 feet tall. Drive the stake into the soil before planting canes around it. Tie new canes loosely to the support.
For larger pots, make a cylinder trellis out of wire fencing or set up a wire cage around plants. ![Raspberries supported by a wire cage][]
Wire cage provides support for potted raspberries
How to Plant Raspberries in Containers
Spring is the best time to plant dormant raspberry canes. Follow these simple steps:
- Choose a pot at least 12” diameter and fill with quality potting mix.
- Make holes and insert canes 2-3” deep. Plant 3-6 canes per pot.
- Add a trellis or stake in center and tie in canes.
- Water thoroughly after planting and keep soil consistently moist.
- Feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertilizer.
- Protect fruits from birds with netting as needed.
Established raspberries can also be transplanted into containers in early spring. Dig up bare root canes and replant following the same method. ![Planting raspberry canes in a pot][]
Planting bare root raspberry canes in a pot
Enjoying the Sweet Taste of Container Grown Raspberries
With proper pruning, watering, light and care, potted raspberries reward you with abundant juicy berries perfect for eating fresh or using in recipes.
The brilliant red fruits can be harvested as soon as they easily detach from the cane. Pick every couple days during peak season.
Raspberry season lasts 4-6 weeks. Enjoy them fresh or preserve the bounty by freezing, canning or making jam. Your container crop will keep giving for years!![Red raspberries picked fresh from a pot][]
Freshly picked raspberries from potted plants
Overwintering Raspberry Plants in Pots
Raspberries are cold hardy, but containers provide less insulation. Mulch pots well before winter or move to a protected area.
For added protection:
- Wrap pots in burlap, bubble wrap or insulation
- Add extra mulch around pots
- Move containers to unheated garage or shed
- Shelter pots against house walls or under decks
Keep soil slightly moist over winter. Remove protections in spring as weather warms.![Raspberries growing in pots covered with burlap][]
Pots wrapped in burlap to overwinter raspberries
Tips for Growing Successful Container Raspberries
Follow these best practices for a thriving potted raspberry crop:
- Select compact, dwarf varieties under 5 feet tall suited to pots.
- Use large containers at least 12-14 inches wide and 10-12 inches deep.
- Choose a sunny location protected from strong winds.
- Plant in quality potting mix enriched with compost or fertilizer.
- Install trellises or cages to support canes before planting.
- Water 1-2 times per day to keep soil consistently moist.
- Fertilize monthly with a balanced liquid plant food during summer.
- Protect ripening fruits from birds with netting if needed.
- Prune out old floricanes after fruiting and keep new primocanes.
- Overwinter containers in a sheltered spot and keep soil slightly moist.
With the right practices, raspberries are easy to grow in pots and will reward you with plentiful juicy berries for picking fresh all summer long!
Selecting the Best Varieties
Now comes the exciting part. You’ve thought about all the advice you’ve been given, you know where you’re going to put them, the ground is ready, the secateurs are sharp, and the freezer and jam pots are empty in preparation! One of the most important things to do is research and think about the best varieties with the qualities you value.
If you haven’t grown raspberries before then you should be warned that most varieties have a few prickles. You shouldn’t really think of them as bayonet-style thorns because they aren’t really dangerous, but they can make harvesting uncomfortable, especially if you’re allergic to the odd scratch! I think it should be seen as a minor annoyance necessary to enjoy the joys of freshly picked raspberries grown by your own hand! But if you really don’t like the idea of getting scratched, you’ll be glad to hear that recently a lot of new varieties have come out that don’t have thorns and have canes that are as smooth as sheer silk stockings!
The most popular of these is Glen Ample Raspberry Bushes – actually our top selling variety. This variety comes in a second early season and needs good soil to do its best. When it does, it’s great. The berries are really large and it is a very heavy cropper. Definitely one to grow unless you have rotten or heavy soil. Glen Moy Raspberry Bushes is another such spine-free raspberry cane and it is a true early variety. Glen Moy has been the highest-yielding type in its class for many years and is still the most popular choice for both commercial and residential planting.
Glen Lyon Raspberry Bushes is another very noteable variety with no prickles, in the mid season class. Glen Prosen Raspberry Bushes is another Raspberry Bush to consider.
The novelty of thornless raspberries was until recently the preserve of the maincrop varieties. But now one or two autumn fruiting types are also being introduced that have no prickles. It was Joan Squire that was the first, but soon after came Himbo Top, a beauty with its big berries, and Autumn Treasure, another beauty with big berries and a long season. There will likely be more as breeding programs focus more and more on making growths that are nice and smooth.
Advice for Growing Raspberries in Pots & Containers
Often people ask me if it’s okay to plant raspberries in pots. The answer is yes, most soft fruits will do well in pots as long as some simple rules are followed. Most soft fruits that is, except Raspberries!.
I’ve seen a few glossy photo’s of lush-looking raspberries growing in pots and laden with fruit. Many of them are staged I feel because the reality is rather different. Raspberries don’t seem to do well when grown for a long time in any kind of container, and their natural growth habits don’t really work with this method. Because, as we’ve already said, lots of crops depend on a lot of healthy new cane production every season, and growing in containers hurts this important basic It’s very hard to keep them multiplying lustily in such an environment. You might find you get goodish crops the first season, from the existing canes you planted. You might get a few the year after that but then that’s usually it. Plus they are really too tall and ungainly for an average pot.
Just remember that it’s only a short-term project and don’t expect too much from it if you decide to give it a try. Plant the canes out into the garden after the first season to grow properly.
If you want to try it, make sure the pot is at least 10 liters and not too deep. Raspberries have shallow roots, so the bottom third of the pot will likely not be used. Use a good free draining proprietary compost with some added grit to ensure that drainage remains really good. Such a container will house 3 canes. 5′ bamboo canes can be used to support the growing canes. Tie them together at the top to make it look like a wigwam. This will keep the canes from blowing around. Also, make sure the whole thing is in a sheltered spot because it will be very easy for it to fall over in the slightest breeze as the summer goes on.
If you need to, water the plant well every day, and once flowering and fruit set start, give it extra food with maxicrop seaweed extract.
Some of the best plants to try in pots are Malling Jewel, Autumn Bliss, and Zeva, which are not too tall and are easy to grow.
Growing raspberries in pots
FAQ
Do raspberries do well in pots?
Do raspberries like full sun or shade?
What happens if you don’t prune raspberries?
How do you know if raspberries are everbearing?
Can you grow raspberries in containers?
The one downside to growing raspberries in containers is that the plants are not all suited to long-term growing in containers. It is recommended that raspberries in pots have a lifespan of around three or four years, after which they can be planted in the ground in your vegetable garden and will grow happily for many years.
Which raspberries to grow in pots?
Raspberry ‘Yummy’ and Lowberry® would make equally good choices. Once you have chosen which raspberries to grow in pots, you will need to spend a little time choosing a container of some kind. How large your container should be will depend on how many raspberry canes you wish to grow in it but, generally, the larger the better.
How do you plant raspberries in a pot?
Learning how to plant raspberries in pots is not difficult. Fill your pot with a soil-based compost to stabilize the plant. The “John Innes No. 3” mix works well for this. Then position six canes around the container, pressing the compost around them. Water them in well. The most important part of raspberry container care is regular irrigation.
How long do raspberries last in pots?
It is recommended that raspberries in pots have a lifespan of around three or four years, after which they can be planted in the ground in your vegetable garden and will grow happily for many years. The new compact dwarf raspberry varieties do have a longer lifespan in pots than other types.
How many raspberries can you put in a pot?
You can place a single raspberry plant in a pot that is a minimum of 30cm wide. In a pot that is 55-60cm in diameter, I’d argue there’s room for roughly three raspberry canes in the same container. However, since raspberries have fairly shallow roots, it is not usually a good idea to place them into a container that they share with other plants.
How big a pot should a raspberry bush be?
For growing a single raspberry bush a container or pot 30 cm wide is recommended. If you have a pot of around 55 – 60cm wide 3 can be grown in the same pot. You do not have to be fancy about your pot. An old bucket with drainage holes drilled at the bottom is fine. Care needs to be taken if using a black coloured container in full sun.