Rubus idaeus 'Caroline' (Everbearing Red Raspberry)

Rubus idaeus 'Caroline' is a fall-bearing red raspberry cultivar noted for its heavy fruit production, incredibly flavorful berries, and its enhanced disease resistance over other popular cultivars like 'Heritage.' While many raspberry cultivars only produce fruit on old growth, called floricane, the 'Caroline' raspberry is also called the everbearing raspberry because, if managed correctly, it will produce fruits on new growth, called primocane, in the late summer, and then a second crop of fruit on old growth in the late spring/early summer of the next year.

Performing best in full sun, though tolerating part shade, 'Caroline' raspberry produces a heavy set of bright red, intensely flavorful fruits, though its fruit production may be hampered in shady areas. While these raspberry plants are obviously valuable to the home gardener for their tasty fruit, they're also ecologically valuable to a variety of pollinators, including butterflies and their larvae, as well as birds and mammals both small and large. 'Caroline' raspberries can get exceptionally tall without pruning, up to nine feet in some cases, so regular pruning is a good idea to control its size as well as promote better fruit production over time.