Purple-Flowering Raspberry
Rubus odoratus
Fragrant rose-purple blooms up to three inches across from June through August, in shade where flowering shrubs fail. Thornless canes.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
Large purple flowers from June through August in shade, thornless canes, and bumblebee activity that's constant all summer.
Purple-flowering raspberry is the most distinctive Rubus in the native landscape: nothing else in the raspberry family has flowers this large and this vividly colored. The rose-purple blooms are two to three inches across, fragrant, and produced continuously from June through August in a way that most shrubs can't manage. Bumblebees work the flowers hard all summer. The flat red berries that follow in fall are edible but bland compared to commercial raspberries; the birds take them enthusiastically nonetheless. What makes this shrub special for a garden setting is what it does in shade. It actually thrives in part to full shade, flowering and spreading along the edge of woodlands where most flowering shrubs would fail. The large, maple-like leaves create a bold textural contrast. The canes are fragrant and thornless: you can walk through it without getting scratched, which no other raspberry can say.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown purple-flowering raspberry propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
Plant purple-flowering raspberry instead of Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius). Same job in the garden, without the spread.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 3–6 ft · 4–8 ft wide
- Bloom time
- June–August
- Bloom color
- Pink, Purple
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Georgia, primarily Appalachian mountain slopes and forest edges
Care notes for purple-flowering raspberry.
Moist, humus-rich soil in part shade to full shade. Tolerates full sun with consistent moisture. Spreads by suckering to form colonies. ideal for naturalized woodland edges; remove suckers if controlling size in a border. Cut oldest canes to the ground each winter. No thorns means it's actually pleasant to work with.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside purple-flowering raspberry.
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