When do raspberries ripen?

Raspberries are the most beloved berry by all gardeners, and many are engaged in its cultivation in their house and summer cottages. The culture is a deciduous perennial shrub, the shoots of which bear fruit in the second year of growth, and then dry out, making room for new ones growing from the roots. The special taste and medicinal qualities of the berry attract the constant interest of experienced and novice amateur gardeners.

Early ripening, medium, late and remontant varieties of raspberries differ in terms of ripeness. The crop is harvested in several stages as part of the fruit ripens. To distinguish ripe berries from greenish ones, site owners are guided by signs common to all types of raspberries.

• The first sign is a change in fruit color from light pink to intense.
• When the berries ripen, they become softer to the touch.
• The ripe berry is easily separated from its stalk.

At the middle stage of ripening, fruits of any variety have a pale pink color, and when ready to harvest, they acquire a color characteristic of the species, which can be dark red, scarlet or burgundy with a purple tint. The hard, green berries are devoid of ripe aroma and have a sour taste.

In the gardens, there are varietal bushes of yellow-fruited raspberries, the berries of which, at the stage of ripeness, acquire a beautiful translucent appearance of drops of intense yellow with a beige tint or orange. The black-fruited variety of raspberry, which is new for many gardeners, can be attributed to the breeding rarity.

Since the beginning of summer, berry connoisseurs have been waiting for the first ripe raspberries to appear on their plots or in the forests. The period of its flowering and ripening can vary in terms of time depending on the local climatic conditions and the variety of shrubs. Since ancient times, raspberries have been harvested at the edges of forests, along river banks and at the site of felling. From wild natural conditions, the useful berry migrated to cultural local farms, and the first experiments on the selection of promising varieties have been known since the 16th century on the territory of Russia. Currently, many new varieties of raspberries have appeared, which ripen at different times.

• Forest, wild growth of which can be found along the banks of rivers and in forest thickets. Differs in the small size of very fragrant and tasty berries.
• Traditional, which quickly spreads over the site and gives one bountiful harvest in summer.
• Repaired, reproduces poorly on its own, gives two harvests during the year - summer and autumn.
• Shtambovaya, the bushes of which in appearance resemble small trees on one trunk, with several shoots growing from it.
• Large-fruited, selective, with a large fruit weight.

Within each of the main species, there are many varieties with different ripening periods. Basically, the main condition must be met - raspberries ripen in the period closer to mid-summer, when the air temperature rises above +23 degrees.

Raspberry bushes distinguish between early, medium and late, but, in addition to the main varieties, there are intermediate ones, such as mid-early or mid-late. The earliest berries can be enjoyed from the second decade of June until the end of this month. Raspberries of mid-season varieties ripen in July, and late or remontant varieties of shrubs can have ripe fruits in August to mid-September.

Among the most common early varieties of raspberries are "Scarlet Sails", "Sun", "Cumberland". Blooming and opening of leaves begins in mid-April, and by the beginning of summer there are already green drupes on the bushes, the first of which are gaining technical ripeness by mid-June. The entire harvesting period can last from one to one and a half months.

Medium varieties are divided into mid-early - "Luck", "Arbat", "Izobilny", and mid-late - "Peresvet", "Tarusa". Their growing season occurs during May, and the first crops can be harvested from the beginning of July. Late varieties begin to bloom, respectively, later, starting at the end of the first summer month. On varieties such as "Arabesque", "Sputnitsa", the first fruits ripen in mid-August and continue to harvest until mid-September.

Repaired raspberries bear fruit twice during the summer-autumn season. The first time fruits appear on it in June, then the shoots are pruned. After a while, the shrub forms new, young shoots, on which flowering begins again. The second harvest in a season is usually less than the first in terms of quantity, but lasts until the first appearance of frost.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, the ripening time of raspberries of the same varieties may differ depending on the region of cultivation. In the south, spring comes about 2-3 weeks earlier, which affects the beginning of the growing season for both wild and garden raspberries. In central Russia and the Moscow region, early varieties of berries are harvested from the end of June, middle ones - in the middle of the summer period, and late ones - from late July to early September.

In the harsh conditions of Siberia and the Urals, as well as in Karelia, raspberry lovers will be able to get the first fruits only in early July, and late varieties will bear fruit from the first half of August until frost. At the same time, the timing of harvesting may fluctuate depending on weather conditions. In those cases when the summer season is cool and rainy, the ripening of berries is delayed by 1-2 weeks longer than average calendar dates. At the same time, forest berries are harvested everywhere only in summer, in contrast to cultivars bred specifically for harsh planting areas.

A special raspberry variety is known in Kaliningrad and far beyond the region. It was bred by German breeders and appeared in garden plots near Kaliningrad after the Great Patriotic War. The tall shrub is frost-resistant, and the berries are distinguished by their excellent taste and pronounced aroma. The Kaliningrad variety is medium, and the harvest takes place during July - the first half of August.