How do I grow raspberries?

Horticulture: Why won't raspberries grow like blackberries?

• I love raspberries, but in NorCal, they don't grow so well -- yet blackberries grow like a vicious plague. They've got to be closely related, has anyone ever crossed one to get the raspberry fruit with the vigor of a blackberry?

• Answer:

  Raspberries and blackberries are members of the same genus, Rubus, so you're right to suspect they're closely related.  Both types of berries grow like gangbusters, just in different climates -- raspberries are just as aggro as blackberries given the right conditions.  In Northern California, it's possible your raspberries aren't getting enough chill in winter to perform well for you in summer -- make sure you've got a low-chill variety, like Baba Red.  It's also possible you're comparing your raspberry canes to the native blackberry bushes, which admittedly do grow like a vicious plague -- home field advantage will do that. Most members of this genus can be crossed with each other.  Loganberries are one well-known cross between raspberries and blackberries, while boysenberries are a cross of those two plus the loganberry.  If you continue to be unhappy with your raspberry production, you might try either of those varieties -- they were both developed in California.