Raspberry Spacing Guide

Raspberries can be one of the most rewarding berry crops on a small farm or in a backyard garden. With healthy bare-root canes and the right spacing, you can enjoy years of sweet harvests. At fROOTz we hold dormant bare-root raspberry canes in our 28° coolers each spring and ship or schedule pickup when your ground is ready.

Summer-bearing vs. Fall-bearing Raspberries

Understanding how your raspberries fruit will help you plan spacing, pruning, and harvest timing. We offer both summer-bearing and fall-bearing (primocane) varieties, and a few that can be managed either way. Throughout this page, we’ll talk about canes rather than “plants,” because you receive dormant bare-root canes with roots attached, not leafed-out potted plants.

Summer-bearing Raspberries

Crop timing: One main crop in early to mid-summer on second-year canes (floricanes).
Cane cycle: Canes grow the first year, fruit the second year, then die. Each season you remove the old fruiting canes and keep the new ones.
Lifespan: A well-managed row can produce for many years with regular thinning and renovation.
Pest note (upper Midwest): Summer harvest overlaps with spotted wing drosophila (SWD) pressure in many areas. This pressure usually arrives around July 1 here, and the timing of this matches summer raspberry fruiting.
Best for: Growers who want a strong early summer harvest for fresh market, freezing, and jam, and who can manage pruning and SWD monitoring.

Fall-bearing (Primocane) Raspberries

Crop timing: Main crop in late summer to fall on first-year canes (primocanes). In many upper Midwest locations, fruiting starts in August and continues until frost.
Simple pruning: The most common system is to mow or cut all canes to the ground in late winter or very early spring. Many growers literally use a lawn mower or brush mower, which is far easier than selective pruning of summer-bearing types.
Lifespan: Long-lived plantings with very straightforward annual cane removal when grown for a single fall crop.
SWD and timing: Fall-bearing canes still need good picking and sanitation, but harvesting into cooler fall weather can help reduce some SWD pressure compared to peak summer conditions.
Best for: Steady late-season berries, extending your market window into fall and providing fresh fruit when strawberries are long gone.

Varieties That Can Be Managed Both Ways

Some fall-bearing varieties can also give a small early summer crop on overwintered canes, then a larger fall crop on new primocanes.
For the double-crop system, keep part of last year’s primocanes for an early summer flush, then prune those fruiting canes out after harvest and let the new primocanes carry the fall crop.
For the single fall crop system, mow all canes to the ground in late winter. This simplifies pruning and can help you stay ahead of SWD by focusing on one clean fall crop.

In short: choose summer-bearing for a big early-season raspberry crop (with more pruning and SWD monitoring), choose fall-bearing for berries from late summer into fall with very simple “mow them off” pruning, and use dual management on certain primocane varieties if you want both.

General Raspberry Spacing Guidelines

Row spacing (field): 8–12 feet between rows, depending on your equipment and whether you are using a trellis.
In-row spacing: 18–24 inches between bare-root canes in the row for most red raspberries.
Row width: Aim for a fruiting row 12–18 inches wide; remove extra canes that creep too far into the alley.
Trellis: Summer-bearing and vigorous fall-bearing varieties perform best with wires or posts to keep canes upright and berries clean.

Commercial Field Spacing

For commercial plantings, choose a spacing that works with your tractor, mower, sprayer, and harvest crew. The guidelines below are a good starting point for red raspberries in the upper Midwest.

Standard Red Raspberry Row

Between rows: 10–12 ft for tractor access, or 8–10 ft in tighter plantings or high tunnels.
Between canes in the row: 18–24 in for most cultivars. Use 18 in for vigorous, suckering varieties and 24 in for less aggressive types.
Canopy width: Maintain a 12–18 in wide fruiting strip by thinning out extra canes each spring.

Approximate Canes per Acre

These numbers are approximations, but they will help you estimate how many bare-root canes to order.

10 ft row spacing, 2 ft in-row spacing: about 2,180 canes per acre.
10 ft row spacing, 18 in in-row spacing: about 2,420 canes per acre.
8 ft row spacing, 2 ft in-row spacing: about 2,725 canes per acre.
8 ft row spacing, 18 in in-row spacing: about 3,025 canes per acre.

Tighter spacing increases cane count and early yield but requires more careful pruning, weed control, and SWD monitoring. Wider spacing is easier to manage and can still yield heavily once the row fills in.

Examples for Small Farms & Home Gardens

20′ x 30′ Raspberry Patch

This is a great size for a family or small farm stand.

Run 2 rows down the 30′ length, about 8–10 ft apart.
Each row is 30 ft long. At 2 ft spacing, you will plant about 15 bare-root canes per row.
Total canes needed: roughly 30 canes for a strong family patch.

Single Row Along a Fence (30–40 ft)

Space bare-root canes 18–24 in apart along the fence.
On a 30 ft run at 2 ft spacing, you will plant about 15 canes.
Total canes needed: 15–20 canes, depending on row length.

Raised Bed or Narrow Strip (~3′ x 15′)

Plant a single row of canes down the middle of the bed.
Space canes 2 ft apart for a manageable hedge.
Total canes needed: about 7–8 canes.

Containers & High Tunnel Rows

High Tunnel Raspberry Rows

Use 6–8 ft between rows inside the tunnel, depending on tunnel width.
Space canes 18–24 in apart in the row.
Keep rows pruned narrow (12–18 in wide) for good air flow, easy picking, and better SWD management.

Large Containers

Raspberries perform best in the ground, but large 15–20 gallon containers can be used for a few canes.
Plant 1–2 bare-root canes per pot and use a simple stake or small trellis.

How Many Bare-Root Raspberry Canes Should I Order?

Backyard fresh-eating (family of 4): 10–20 canes, depending on how many weeks of berries you’d like.
Freezing and jam lovers: 25–40 canes.
Small farm trial block (about 1/8 acre): 250–350 canes, based on your row spacing.
Full acre planting: roughly 2,000–3,000 canes, depending on how tight you set row and in-row spacing.

If you are unsure how many summer-bearing and fall-bearing canes to mix, we are happy to help you design a planting that matches your harvest window, market, and space in the upper Midwest.