I've got Heritage and it does well for me, but most on here recommend Caroline for an everbearing red. I had heard that black raspberries were more shade tolerant than the reds. I think either way they'd grow fine but probably wouldn't have as many berries.

And the answer is... 42! Love your "zaphod 42"!

"Caroline" is a great place to start for an everbearing red, and is one of the sweeter varieties. The thorns are barely existent on it.

"Prelude" is sort of a hybrid between an everbearer and a summerbearer: It bears early in the season like a summer bear, but also gives fruit on it's primocanes like an evearbearer.

"Anne" is a big yellow raspberry which is probably the tastiest of them all. But, the plant is not very productive. It's an everbearer.

There are varieties that do better in certain parts of the country, but usually they are varieties which are bred for withstanding heat... like DormanRed down in Florida or something.

I've found that you can grow raspberries in 50-60% shade... You just get less berries, that's all.

Raspberries are a great place for a new gardner to start. They're as hardy as weeds.

Where are you planning on getting them from? I'd recommend a place like www.NourseFarms.com because you won't be able to find the selection at your local nursery, and you'll pay through the nose. The only problem with that is that really, they only ship in the spring and perhaps the fall. But, raspberries from Nourse are worth the wait.

Good luck,
-Glenn

Thank you for the recommendations. I was planning to shop locally this year if I could. I do have a bunch of gift certificates because everyone knew I was jumping in to gardening this year. I checked out the prices at Nourse so I have a baseline of what it'll cost me. If I can't find the right stuff then I'll wait until next spring.

I have a couple follow-up questions regarding number and layout. My space is 15.5' x 5.5' and according to another post (listing plants at 2'intervals) I should get seven plants?

Also, I'm the single raspberry consumer in the house, beyond what I give to friends and family, so that seems like a lot of berries all at once. Should I maybe do two different varieties that are ready at different times over the summer? The second wouldn't have to be everbearing. If I did 'Caroline' what would you put with it?

Thanks again!

I'd recommend a black raspberry to go with Caroline. I've got Bristol and it ripens before the first crop on Heritage. It should be ripe in another week or so. Then I get the first crop on Heritage (around the end of the month). There's a break of about 2-3 weeks before the fall crop on Heritage and Anne is ripe. Anne is actually a little later, but the Heritage crop keeps going until it gets hit by a freeze and I often get sick of raspberries before then.

Nobody locally seems to carry 'Caroline'. Is that strange or maybe it doesn't do as well here? I called around and these seem to be the range of availabilities locally:
BRANDY WINE
BRISTOL BLACK
FALL GOLD
HERITAGE
LATHAM
LOGAN BLACK
MAMMOTH
SEPTEMBER
AUTUMN GOLD
BOYNE
BRISTOL
CANBY

Nourse's website says zones 4-7 for both Caroline and Prelude. There's a chance your local nurseries or their local supplies may prefer to stock non-patented varieties b/c brambles are so easy to propogate. I haven't tried all of the varieties above, but grow or have grown a number of varieties for about 4 years, and based on my experience and most of what I've read, Caroline and Prelude are the top choices. A raspberry bed will likely bear for a number of years and I personally wouldn't settle for what was available locally if it means you'll be getting smaller, less flavorful berries for the life of the bed. Nourse is sold out of both, but Hartmann's might have them (they sell brambles both bareroot and potted). I also know Edible Landscaping sells Caroline in pots.

I'd 2nd the recommendation to add a black, such as Bristol. A combination of Bristol, Caroline, and Prelude would give you a nice long harvest spread.

Around here, you'll pay $20-$30 for a raspberry plant at a local nursery. At Nourse, you'll play $3.

Heritage is the classic raspberry by which all others are judged. But, many of us here on this forum, feel that there are bigger/better/sweeter/less thorny varieties. In my mind, Caroline is like an improved Heritage. That's not to say that you wouldn't be happy with a local nursery bought Heritage... I'm just saying that there are better ones out there. I'm considering pulling out my bed of Heritage.

Fall Gold - Stay away from this one. You only ever see 3 yellow raspberries talked about: Anne which is arguably the best tasting raspberry out there, but not very productive. Kiwi Gold which has a very unique flavor, and is very vigorous. And Fall Gold which has none of the positive attributes of the other 2. At least that seems to be the general consensus of every post on that subject that I've seen here. I only grow Anne and Kiwi Gold in the yellows. I'm thinking that "Autumn Gold" is really just another name for "Fall Gold".

Also keep in mind that many in your list above are summer bearers, so you'll have to wait an extra year for those berries.

As for how many you plant, it really doesn't matter. When I plant them 2 feet apart, within 3 years, the bed is 100% filled in. If you wanted to plant them further apart, they'd probably still be all filled in in 3 - 4 years.

Caroline, Prelude, and a black would give you an awesome start... even if you had to wait until fall or spring. As djofNelson said, Edible Landscaping is shipping Caroline if you really want to get started now... but it's more like local nursery prices.

Good luck,
-Glenn

I have no problem eating the raspberries off of 4 bushes myself, and I would need a lot more if I wanted to make pies or jams. I planted mine 3' apart and by the end of the third year they've basically filled all available space. Next year I expect they will start tangling with each other.

Oh, forgot to say, my red raspberry bushes are Heritage, I'm pretty happy with them. I accidentally got 1 Latham, it's not ever-bearing and sprawls everywhere instead of standing upright, I don't recommend it. I think my black raspberries taste better than the red ones, but I don't know what they are since I dug them up from a field where they were growing wild for 30 years or more. They have blue-white canes on the new growth, that's the only distinctive thing about them.

Are you in Milwaukee? If you were in Madison, I know Jungs carries Caroline. They're much cheaper in the spring as bareroots though, and the ones from Nourse are bigger than the Jungs bareroots.

I have grown Caroline. They are vigorous and produce well. A few are starting to turn red right now. I also have Jewell Black Raspberry, which many places have. They also are good.

I would not recommend Boyne. They are not vigorous and do not produce well. They do seem to grow better in the shade though.