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, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 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.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.