Purple Flowering Raspberry
Purple Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental native shrub, prized for the purple flowers that bloom profusely in early summer and continue throughout the season. The attractive maple-like leaves look good all season long and turn pale yellow in the fall …
| Soil Type | Loam, Sand |
|---|---|
| Soil Moisture | Medium, Moist |
| Sun Exposure | Full Sun, Partial, Shade |
| Height | 5' - 8' |
| Bloom Color | Pink, Purple |
| Bloom Time | June, July, Aug |
| Spacing | 3' - 6' |
| Hardiness Zones | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| Root Type | Rhizome |
| Benefits | Birds, Pollinators, Host Plant, Deer Resistant |
Purple Flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus) is an ornamental native shrub, prized for the purple flowers that bloom profusely in early summer and continue throughout the season. The attractive maple-like leaves look good all season long and turn pale yellow in the fall. A thornless raspberry, Rubus odoratus has hairy stems but no prickles. The fragrant colorful blooms host a flurry of pollinators, and the large fruit that follows is highly sought by a variety of birds and other wildlife. As for human consumption, the fruit lacks the sweetness and flavor of its bramble cousins.
The flowers of Rubus odoratus are somewhat self-fertile, which means that a single shrub will produce some fruit, but not as abundantly as when two or three of the shrubs are present. It prefers medium to moist, well-drained soils, but also tolerates a wide range of adverse conditions and has good shade tolerance as well.
The long-lived plants form broad attractive patches and it may be easiest to situate this plant where it has plenty of room to spread. That said, adjacent plants, pathways and lawn may effectively curtail the plants’ suckering tendencies. Found in moist, partial shade at woodland edges it grows natively throughout the eastern United States and the Allegheny regions. It is fairly common in the Catskills where it is reportedly spectacular in bloom. Its status is endangered in Illinois and threatened in Indiana.
