8 Tasty Types of Raspberries You Can Harvest All Season – Mix and Match for Fresh Fruit From Summer Through Fall

A raspberry patch that only produces for two or three weeks feels like a missed opportunity. The plants are already in the ground, the canes are already trellised, and then it’s over until next year. The harvest window doesn’t have to be that small, though. You just have to know which types of raspberries to plant for a harvest that lasts for months.

When first growing raspberries, it’s important to learn that varieties are split into two distinct fruiting types that run on different schedules. Getting both in the ground is central to a long-lasting harvest.

Summer-bearing varieties fruit once on second-year canes. They produce a concentrated flush in early to midsummer and then that’s it until next year. Everbearing types fruit twice – once in fall on new canes and again the following summer on those same canes.

I’ll share the best summer and everbearing raspberry varieties to grow together so you can harvest fruit from summer all the way into fall. Get ready for tons of delicious fresh berries, jams, and desserts!

Summer-Bearing Raspberry Varieties

Summer-bearing raspberries fruit on floricanes, or canes that grew the previous year. So year one is mostly about getting established. Year two gives you a dense harvest that all comes in all at once. For an early harvest, try these summer-bearing types of raspberry plants.

‘Boyne’

‘Boyne’ is a cold-hardy Canadian raspberry variety that grows in zones 3 through 7, with vigorous canes and medium-sized berries that are a bit tart. This variety is best for cooking and baking. Turn it into a delicious raspberry jam!

Berries ripen late in June to early July. Give plants full sun and well-drained soil. Keep plants watered well and this variety mostly handles itself. That tart flavor deepens when cooked, which is why it’s been a jam staple for years.

Pick up some Boyne raspberry plants from Scenic Hill Farm on Etsy.

‘Killarney’

‘Killarney’ is cold-tolerant and can be grown in USDA growing zones 3 through 6. It has firm, bright red fruit and a cleaner, sweeter flavor than Boyne – it tastes better straight off the bush. Fruit ripens a week or two after Boyne, which stretches the summer window without much extra effort.

Canes are moderately thorny but upright and easy enough to trellis. It handles humid summers better than a lot of varieties. Killarney has fewer fungal problems, which matters in wetter gardens.

You can get bare root Killarney raspberry plants from Burpee online.

‘Nova’

‘Nova’ is a productive mid-season variety. It produces large, firm berries that don’t fall apart in the freezer and have a sweet yet mildly acidic flavor. This raspberry variety handles heat better than most summer-bearers, so this is a good option for gardeners in USDA growing zone 7 and parts of zone 8.

Canes are sturdy and semi-thornless, so picking is faster and less painful than with most other types of raspberries. A pair of gloves like this from Amazon keeps your hands protected from thorns once the patch is producing.

Shop Nova raspberry plants from Stark Bro's.

‘Cascade Delight’

‘Cascade Delight’ comes out of Washington State University’s breeding program and is built for the Pacific Northwest, but it performs just as well in other areas.

This variety produces large, conical berries with a balanced sweet-tart flavor and firm texture. These raspberries store better than most, which is worth noting if you’re growing more than you can eat fresh.

It has a solid resistance to root rot and better tolerance of heavier soils than most varieties in this category. You can grow this midsummer ripening type of raspberry in zones 5 through 9. It's a good option if drainage has been an issue with other varieties you’ve tried.

Get starter plugs of Cascade Delight from Cane Creek Meadows on Etsy.

Everbearing Raspberry Varieties

Everbearing raspberry varieties produce on first-year canes in fall and again on those same canes the following summer.

They’re more flexible than summer-bearers and easier to manage if you prefer a simpler raspberry pruning approach. Just mow the whole patch to the ground each fall and you will get one big fall crop annually instead of two smaller harvests.

Here are some of the most delicious and easy-to-grow everbearing types of raspberry plants.

‘Heritage’

‘Heritage’ is the benchmark everbearing variety. It has been planted widely enough across zones 3 through 8 that its behavior is pretty well mapped at this point, though they do best in mild climates.

A fall crop of raspberries comes in September and October on new canes. Those same canes carry a summer crop the following year. Berries are medium-sized, firm, nothing flashy.

A raspberry trellis system, like this one from Amazon, keeps the canes upright and the rows workable. It's worth setting up before the plants get established rather than after, since it's much harder to train prickly, sprawling canes.

Buy your Heritage raspberry plants from Fast Growing Trees.

‘Caroline’

‘Caroline’ gets called an improved Heritage fairly often, and it’s not wrong. Berries are larger and the flavor is richer. They are more aromatic, deeper, and hold up after freezing better than most. This type of raspberry is more tolerant of root rot, too, which matters in heavier soils.

Fall crop ripens slightly earlier than Heritage, which extends the harvest window at the other end of the season. Zones 4 through 8, and a good choice if you want everbearing performance with better flavor.

You can find Caroline raspberry bare root plants from Burpee.

‘Joan J’

‘Joan J’ is thornless, which sets it apart from most everbearing varieties, and it produces some of the largest berries in this category – firm, sweet, and showy. It’s also the earliest fall-bearing primocane available, so the crop is underway before Heritage and Caroline have hit their stride.

Canes are vigorous and grow upright in zones 4 through 8. The thornless trait makes maintenance and picking considerably more pleasant, especially for a patch that gets worked frequently through fall.

Get your delicious Joan J raspberry plants online from Burpee.

‘Autumn Britten’

‘Autumn Britten’ is a UK-bred variety with unusually large, sweet berries and a long fall harvest window. The flavor is milder than Heritage or Caroline. It's less acidic and more dessert-forward. Zones 5 through 8.

This variety of raspberry ripens mid-fall and keeps going later into the season than most everbearing types. It's worth pairing with Joan J because Joan J starts early, then Autumn Britten carries the berries through the season, and between the two you get a fall harvest that’s hard to match with a single variety.

You can find Autumn Britten raspberry starts for sale online from Walmart.

Raspberry Planting Essentials