Are There Any Raspberry Varieties That Do Not Produce Suckers & Stay Quite Compact?

Raspberry Categories

• Growers categorize raspberries according to berry color. Red raspberries sucker freely from the plant's edges, eventually growing into large, messy brambles if they're left to their own devices. They make up for this shortcoming with tasty, tender fruit and a hardy constitution. Black raspberries, a separate species than either red raspberries or blackberries, are traditionally somewhat seedier and more frost-tender. They have better garden manners than red raspberries, however, and send up canes from the crown rather than suckering. Purple raspberries are hybrids between red and black raspberries.

Black Raspberries

• Black raspberries send up arching canes from the plant's center, eventually rooting if the canes touch the ground. A black raspberry generally stays where it's put, rarely finding its way under the fence and into your neighbor's flowerbeds. Winter temperatures below minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit usually kill black raspberries, however, and their bold-flavored, nearly black fruit have distinct seeds. Blackhawk is a strong, anthracnose-resistant variety with good-sized, flavorful berries and is popular in commercial plantings.

Purple Raspberries

• While red raspberries still hold an edge in hardiness and visual appeal, purple raspberries are much hardier than their black predecessors and, in most cases, keep the black raspberry's tidy habit. Brandywine is a popular nonsuckering variety with a tart flavor perfect for jam, but it struggles in dense, clay soil. Royalty has a sweeter flavor and isn't bothered by aphids, but be careful -- this variety suckers. Amethyst, on the other hand, does not sucker and produces generous yields of attractive, glossy berries.

Gold Raspberries

• Don't let gold raspberries' mild flavor and cheery color fool you -- gold raspberry cultivars are simply red raspberries in disguise, and sucker freely. If you must have a golden raspberry in your garden, try Anne. While Anne yields fewer fruit than red raspberries, the fruit are large, with a good flavor and, most importantly, this cultivar does not produce many suckers.