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Raspberries and Blackberries planting zones

All the raspberries and blackberries on this page (Rubus) are perennials, so two questions decide them: do they live through your winter, and can they take your summer heat. By the type table below, at least one type is rated for 3a–9b. Below the types are the dates the year turns on: each zone’s median last spring freeze and first fall freeze, from NOAA records.

Published October 28, 2026 · Cite this page

The types

Which raspberries and blackberries to grow

Type Hardy in the ground Notes
Summer-bearing red raspberry Rubus idaeus, floricane (e.g. ‘Boyne’, ‘Nova’, ‘Killarney’, ‘Latham’) 3a to 8a, then too hot or humid Fruits once, in summer, on canes in their second year. Minnesota rates ‘Boyne’ very hardy.
Fall-bearing red raspberry Rubus idaeus, primocane (e.g. ‘Heritage’, ‘Autumn Britten’, ‘Caroline’, ‘Polana’) 4a to 8a, then too hot or humid Fruits at the tips of first-year canes in late summer. Minnesota warns that where the season is short, many berries are lost to early autumn freezes.
Black or purple raspberry Rubus occidentalis and hybrids (e.g. ‘Bristol’, ‘Black Hawk’, ‘Royalty’) 5a to 8a, then too hot or humid Grown in hills rather than rows. Minnesota rates these fair to poor for hardiness in zones 3 and 4.
Erect blackberry Rubus, floricane (e.g. ‘Arapaho’, ‘Natchez’, ‘Ouachita’, ‘Ponca’) 5a to 9b, then too hot or humid Stiff canes that need little or no trellis. The University of Arkansas, where many of these were bred, says its varieties are adapted statewide.
Primocane-fruiting blackberry Rubus (e.g. ‘Prime-Ark Freedom’, ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’) 6a to 9b, then too hot or humid Two crops: summer on second-year canes and late summer on new ones (Clemson). The University of Arkansas gives ‘Prime-Jan’ about 300 to 400 chill hours.

Zone ranges are a judgement: horticultural convention set beside what the sources below say, not a measurement. They agree with our What survives my winter tool. In the next table the freeze dates are measured, and the count of hardy types comes from these judged ranges; its last column counts back from a measured date by a source’s rule.

Zone by zone

Zone by zone: which types fit, and when the freezes fall

Each date is the median across every NOAA station the zone’s ZIP codes cite, 1991–2020 normals. The middle half of those stations falls within the range shown beside it.

Zone Types hardy in the ground Last spring freeze First fall freeze Plant blackberries
3a 1 of 5 only 10 stations with comparable freeze dates — too few to publish a date
3b 1 of 5 May 18 · middle half May 15 – May 25 September 23 · middle half September 17 – September 26 not rated hardy here
4a 2 of 5 May 15 · middle half May 10 – May 21 September 27 · middle half September 22 – September 30 not rated hardy here
4b 2 of 5 May 11 · middle half May 5 – May 23 September 30 · middle half September 23 – October 3 not rated hardy here
5a 4 of 5 May 9 · middle half May 1 – May 20 October 2 · middle half September 26 – October 7 March 28 – April 11
5b 4 of 5 May 4 · middle half April 27 – May 15 October 8 · middle half October 1 – October 14 March 23 – April 6
6a 5 of 5 May 1 · middle half April 24 – May 9 October 14 · middle half October 5 – October 20 March 20 – April 3
6b 5 of 5 April 25 · middle half April 17 – May 3 October 20 · middle half October 11 – October 24 March 14 – March 28
7a 5 of 5 April 19 · middle half April 11 – April 27 October 23 · middle half October 17 – October 28 March 8 – March 22
7b 5 of 5 April 8 · middle half April 3 – April 16 October 30 · middle half October 25 – November 3 February 25 – March 11
8a 5 of 5 March 30 · middle half March 25 – April 5 November 5 · middle half November 1 – November 10 February 16 – March 2
8b 2 of 5 March 20 · middle half March 13 – March 29 November 12 · middle half November 7 – November 18 February 6 – February 20
9a 2 of 5 March 5 · middle half February 24 – March 15 November 24 · middle half November 18 – December 2 January 22 – February 5
9b 2 of 5 February 12 · middle half January 30 – February 25 December 8 · middle half December 1 – December 17 January 1 – January 15
10a 0 of 5 107 of 190 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from
10b 0 of 5 70 of 79 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from
11a 0 of 5 34 of 34 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from
11b 0 of 5 12 of 12 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from

“Types hardy in the ground” is a judgement, from the type table above. The freeze dates are measured. “Plant blackberries” is four to six weeks before the median last spring freeze, Clemson’s rule for planting blackberries in early spring.

A zone does not tell you your own dates. Inside a single zone the median last spring freeze still varies by 34 days from station to station, so the box below gives the dates of the NOAA station nearest your ZIP code.

Your ZIP code

Your ZIP, your answer

Enter your ZIP code to see your USDA zone, how many of the 5 types on this page live through that zone’s winter and when its freezes fall, read from the table on this page, and the freeze dates of the NOAA station nearest you.

Works for all 40,502 US ZIP codes. Freeze dates need a NOAA station within 100 km; where there is none, the page says so rather than estimating one. Your ZIP code stays in your browser: the page downloads the file of ZIP codes that share its first three digits and looks yours up there. It is not stored or tracked.

Your answer appears here.

Full details for any ZIP code: ZIP code zone finder.

Raspberries for the North, blackberries for the South

University of Minnesota Extension says most raspberries fruit on floricanes, canes in their second year, while everbearing or fall-bearing red raspberries also fruit at the tips of first-year canes, the primocanes. It warns that in areas with a short season, many fall-bearing berries are lost to early autumn freezes, and that where winter injury is a concern, primocane-fruiting varieties may be the best choice, since they fruit on new growth.

Minnesota rates its red raspberries for zones 4 and 3: ‘Boyne’, ‘Festival’, ‘Killarney’, ‘Latham’ and ‘Nova’ very good to good, and fall-bearing ‘Autumn Britten’ and ‘Heritage’ very good to good, ‘Autumn Bliss’ and ‘Caroline’ good to fair. Its black and purple raspberries, ‘Black Hawk’, ‘Bristol’ and ‘Royalty’, rate only fair to poor, and yellow ‘Fallgold’ very good to good.

Blackberries take the warm end. Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center describes erect, semi-trailing and trailing blackberries, and primocane varieties that bear two crops: one in summer on second-year canes and one in late summer on new canes. Its variety table includes ‘Arapaho’, ‘Caddo’, ‘Chester’, ‘Hull’, ‘Kiowa’, ‘Natchez’, ‘Osage’, ‘Ouachita’, ‘Ponca’, ‘Sweetie Pie’ and ‘Triple Crown’, with the primocane ‘Prime-Ark 45’, ‘Prime-Ark Freedom’ and ‘Prime-Ark Traveler’.

The University of Arkansas, which bred many of those, says its varieties are erect, adapted statewide and need no elaborate trellis. It gives ‘Apache’ about 800 to 900 chill hours and ‘Prime-Jan’ about 300 to 400. University of Illinois Extension says most semi-erect and trailing thornless blackberries are not very winter hardy and are suggested only for southern Illinois.

When and how to plant

Clemson plants blackberries in early spring, about 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost, and the table above dates that window for every zone where an erect blackberry is rated. The University of Arkansas plants roots or rooted plants any time in spring before the soil warms, and Illinois in early spring.

Raspberries go in in early spring too (Minnesota, Illinois). Illinois plants red raspberries at the depth they grew in the nursery and black and purple ones about an inch deeper; Minnesota keeps the crown 1 or 2 inches above the ground, spaces red and yellow raspberries 2 to 3 feet apart and black and purple ones 4 feet apart. Clemson sets blackberry crowns about 2 inches below the soil and erect plants 2 to 4 feet apart.

Clemson wants a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5 for blackberries and a weed-free strip 2 to 3 feet wide. Illinois says to start from virus-indexed, certified plants.

Trellis and spacing

Minnesota holds red raspberry canes up with a simple wire trellis and says a narrow raised bed with a fence keeps them contained and easier to prune. Illinois grows red and yellow raspberries in hedgerows a foot or two wide and black and purple ones in hills.

Clemson says blackberries benefit greatly from trellising, and that the most common system is a V-trellis, with I- and T-shaped trellises as other options. Illinois says most erect blackberries can stand without support, 2 to 4 feet apart in rows 8 to 10 feet apart.

Pruning: the canes decide

Summer-bearing raspberries: in August, after harvest, Minnesota cuts the canes that fruited to the ground, and in March, before growth begins, it cuts red and yellow raspberry canes back to 4 or 5 feet tall. Black and purple raspberries: Minnesota pinches the new canes at 24 to 30 inches in summer, then in March shortens the side branches to 12 to 18 inches and keeps four or five canes per hill.

Fall-bearing raspberries: for one fall crop, Minnesota cuts all the canes to the ground in March. For a fall crop and a summer crop the next year, it leaves the canes that fruited in fall and cuts them back in spring to about 12 inches above the trellis.

Blackberries: Clemson removes the canes that fruited right after harvest, tips the new erect canes at 30 to 36 inches in summer so they branch, and in winter cuts those side branches back to 12 to 14 inches.

Supplies

Supplies the sources mention

Each link opens an Amazon search for a plain kind of product, not one we picked. We have not tested these, and we do not rank them.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra and changes nothing on this page: the dates are NOAA’s and the advice is the extension services’. Affiliate disclosure

Harvest

Minnesota harvests primocane-bearing raspberries from mid to late summer, and floricane varieties earlier in summer. Clemson says blackberries are ripe when they turn dull rather than glossy, and that they start ripening in late June in the South Carolina Piedmont.

Minnesota says that where spotted wing drosophila is present, ripe berries should be picked often.

Common problems

Minnesota says plants with virus symptoms should be destroyed, keeps rabbits off with chicken wire, and watches for spotted wing drosophila, Japanese beetles, raspberry sawfly and cane borers. Clemson lists aphids, Japanese beetles, stink bugs, spotted wing drosophila and spider mites on blackberries, and rosette, also called double blossom, among their diseases.

Illinois says some blackberries turn out sterile, growing and blooming well but setting only a few malformed berries, and that such plants should be destroyed, roots and all.

Common mistakes

We found no raspberry source for the Deep South that we could read for this page, and no Texas A&M source on blackberries. The Southern advice here is Clemson’s and the University of Arkansas’s.

Questions

When should I plant blackberries?
In early spring. Clemson plants about 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost, and the table on this page dates that for your zone from NOAA records. The University of Arkansas plants any time in spring before the soil warms.
How do I prune raspberries?
It depends on the type. University of Minnesota Extension cuts summer-bearing canes to the ground after they fruit and cuts all the canes of fall-only raspberries to the ground in March.
What is a primocane raspberry or blackberry?
One that fruits on first-year canes. University of Minnesota Extension says everbearing raspberries fruit at the tips of first-year canes, and Clemson says primocane blackberries give two crops, in summer and late summer.
How do I know when blackberries are ripe?
Clemson says a ripe blackberry turns dull rather than glossy.
Do blackberries need a trellis?
Erect ones can stand alone, University of Illinois Extension says, but Clemson says blackberries benefit greatly from trellising, most often a V-trellis.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The type table is a judgement, as labelled above. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

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Published October 28, 2026

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