Nova Red Raspberry

Raspberries spell Summer, and no summer is complete without the joy of picking fresh, juicy raspberries straight of the bush. With the Nova Red Raspberry you get just that, plus almost no prickles to sting tiny fingers, so the children will love picking their own – we hope they leave some for you. An abundant cropping bush, and easy to grow, you will enjoy the sight of the small, white flowers in spring, like tiny roses. These quickly develop into plump raspberries that will be ready for harvesting in early summer. Sweet, juicy and oh, so tasty, they are perfect fresh, turned into a coulis, used for tarts, or made into jam. Any berries you don’t use while fresh can be simply popped into the freezer. Raspberries grow by sending up long canes, 3 to 4 feet long, up from the base. These need support, and you can grow a row of plants on wires stretched between poles, or a single plant on a wooden pole – take your pick. Tie the stems loosely to the wires or the pole, and do the same for new ones that grow up during summer.

• Big crops of delicious red raspberries in early summer
• Attractive spring flowers like small, white roses
• Perfect for eating fresh, baking, sauces, or freezing
• Almost no prickles, so picking is very comfortable
• Can be grown in rows or a single plant on a pole

Plant the Nova Red Raspberry in full sun for the biggest crop, but it will tolerate a few hours of shade each day too. Grow it in rich, moist, well-drained soil, adding good compost when planting, and mulching with more in fall. For a row, space plants 3 feet apart, stretching two wires between poles along the row, one a foot from the ground and the other 3 feet from the ground. Tie in canes as they grow. Provide protection from deer, rabbits and birds – a simply net over the row is all you need. Very easy to grow and usually free of any significant pests or diseases. After picking the berries, cut out all the stems that had berries, at ground level, and continue to tie in new stems that have grown from the base. In fall, cut off the top few inches of the canes to encourage side branches that carry the berries the following year. Keep doing these steps each year and you will continue to harvest good crops for many years.