Raspberry Schlaraffia Plentiful - Rubus idaeus

Raspberry or Rubus idaeus Schlaraffia® Plentiful® is part of a range with fairly compact growth, making picking easier, without affecting their considerable yield. The sturdy and straight, thornless canes require little or no support. The medium-sized, conical fruits are initially large, then medium-sized and stable throughout the production. They are sweet, with excellent flavour and subtle acidity. Harvesting starts quite early, at the end of July, and continues until mid-September. This raspberry is a suckering bush that grows in deep, loose, fertile, not too chalky garden soil that remains moist in summer.

The Raspberry belongs to the Rosaceae family, like strawberries, blackberries, and wild roses. The wild raspberry is native to Europe and temperate Asia, where it grows in cool climates alongside elderberry, beech, or rowan, especially in mountain undergrowth, but also in plain areas.

The Schlaraffia Plentiful Remontant Raspberry is a deciduous shrub with upright canes, forming a bush about 1.20 to 1.50 m in all directions over time. The canes are biennial, each dying after fruiting. From its roots, suckers emerge every year, new canes without thorns. Its leaves are green on the top, whitish-green and furry on the underside. They fall in autumn. The flowering is very nectar-rich. The small (1 to 2 cm in diameter) white flowers are grouped in clusters of 10 to 12 from May to July for this remontant variety that produces until September. The fruits are formed by small agglomerated drupes, easy to detach when ripe.

Production reaches its peak in the third year after planting. One plant can produce fruits for around 10 years. Remontant varieties, which produce in autumn (generally from August to October) and then around June the following year, are distinguished from non-remontant varieties, whose abundant harvest takes place around June - July.

To fully enjoy their flavour, raspberries should be consumed quickly after picking, as they do not keep for long, only a few days in the refrigerator. If you have a plentiful harvest, consider making coulis, sorbets, ice creams, pies, or jams. You can also freeze them.