Best Autumn Raspberries

[realfood]

Gardening Which has just reported on their tests of growing Autumn Rasps, which some may find of interest.
Independent tests on double cropping of Autumn raspberry plants (ie leaving the old canes to fruit the following Summer), have shown that the total crop is a bit larger than for Autumn cropping alone. It also has the benefit of spreading the cropping period from July to late Autumn.

Suggested varieties of Autumn fruiting Raspberries.

Joan J. This variety produces a big crop of large berries over a long period, often till November when the frosts will stop the fruiting. This variety came top in independent taste tests for Autumn raspberries. Spine free canes.

Autumn Treasure. Produced the highest yield of Autumn raspberries in tests, using the double cropping method. Resistant to mould, a problem in wet and damp weather. Spine free canes.

Polka. Came second in independent taste tests. Produced a smaller crop with some mould in damp weather. Small spines on canes.

Autumn Bliss. The traditional standard variety produces a good crop of medium sized berries over a long period, often till November when the frosts will stop the fruiting. Susceptible to mould in damp and wet weather. Canes have spines.

[realfood]

[pigeonseed]

Thanks for this - I've been thinking of getting some Autumn fruiting raspberries. Joan J sound good.

[delboy]

I only grow the autumn fruiting varieties.

Polka are not all that great, whereas both Autumn Bliss and Joan J have excelled in shape and size and taste.

Polka have been smaller and "crumblier"

[Digeroo]

I am cropping JoanJ now.  Planted last year and I am very pleased with them.  Huge fruit.   I like the fact that every day it produces a couple of fruit per cane.   I have heard it is good at going on a take over bid.  Seems lime tolerant.  Like the lack of spines.  There seems to be an optium time to pick each fruit to get the best taste and this does not last very long.  So each day I have a little feast. Lovely.

Polka on planted this year so only a few few fruit so far, seem to be slightly more acidic.

[aj]

Joan J are a fab autumn rasp; a couple of years back [their first year if I remember correctly] we were still picking in November.

We had to cut back all our rasps last August to the ground to remove remaining aminopyralid contaminated manure as they had been mulched in it, so I chopped the lot back and the amount of autumn rasps we've had this year fro Joan J has been astounding.

Plus as they are in the centre bed at the plot, no spines = no sweary me or OH as we brush past them.

[Digeroo]

Just a bit of a downer on JoanJ.  I have lost a few canes through some kind of mould.  So far this is not proving a major problem, Glen Lyon next to it it is suffering worse.  Not sure where this came from but since Joan is producing lots of new canes it is not a major issue but I will be watching with interest on where this become a problem.

[artichoke]

I am very keen on Joan J, having seen and tasted a neighbour's crop.

Strangely, when I bought and planted some canes to extend a row of Autumn Bliss (also very good) they refused to thrive, died back, sent some runners underneath a path, and soared up in a bed of strawberries. They look extremely healthy there and very tall, but much later than usual - still in bud.

I plan to dig them up in due course and replace them where they should be, which remains a gap. Will they die again???

I am also very fond of Allgold, another autumn raspberry, very prolific.

[aj]

I deliberately grow strawbs under my rasps as the rasps come into fruit just as the strawbs end - perhaps they are clever rasps!

[OllieC]

I'd also add that Joan J are much easier to prune than Autumn Bliss if grown this way (for an early crop) due to the lack of spines. Commercially Bliss are far more common, because they are pruned with a tractor & a cutter instead of secateurs, they fruit 5 to 10 days earlier and the fruit sits on the canes slightly better (i.e. it's a little firmer).