Rubus (genus, raspberry)

Japanese name: ラズベリー
Scientific name: Rubus

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 1–1.5 m tall.
In Europe the name often refers to Yoroppa-kiichigo itself, but most plants in trade are hybrids, including species native to North America, so it is treated as a collective name.
According to fruit color, it is divided into three lines: red raspberries, black raspberries and purple raspberries.
The branches are usually erect and have thorns.
Leaves are alternate and odd-pinnately compound.
The flowers are white with 5 petals.
When ripe, the fruit comes off the receptacle easily and is hollow inside.
There are lines that fruit once a year and lines that fruit twice a year.

[History]
It was brought into cultivation in England in the 16th century.
It was introduced to America by immigrants but did not suit the local climate, so improvement proceeded using species native to North America.

[Uses]
The fruit is sweet and sour with a pleasant aroma, and is eaten fresh or made into processed products such as jam.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division, cuttings or layering.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile soil that retains water well.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long sunny spell and the soil dries out.
Apply organic fertilizer in winter, and quick-acting chemical fertilizer after flowering and in autumn.
Prune in winter.
For once-fruiting lines, cut the fruiting branches that bore fruit that year at the base, and from the newly grown branches that will bear fruit next year (fruiting mother branches), choose those 1 cm or more in diameter and leave 5–6 per plant.
For twice-fruiting lines, branches that bore fruit in autumn of that year will fruit again the following spring, so leave them, thin out the other branches, and from the branches that will bear fruit next year (fruiting mother branches), choose those 1 cm or more in diameter and leave 5–6 per plant.
Remove dead parts from the fruiting mother branches, and cut back side branches leaving 1–2 buds at the base.
Pests and diseases include gray mold, anthracnose, scale insects and spider mites.

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