I'm not aware of any thornless raspberries. Raspberries don't really have bad thorns anyway (unlike thorny blackberries) so there's probably not a lot of pressure for breeders to develop thornless cultivars. Black raspberries send up new canes from the crown, but I don't like the flavor. Glenn Russell is the main fanatic of raspberries on this forum, maybe he can give you some good advice.

Ha! I've been called out! :-) Fanatic is as good of word as any. Thanks Olpea!

I was actually waiting to see if someone could offer better advice here than I could. But, since there's nobody yet...

As for thornless raspberries... I grow Joan J which is indeed thornless. It is about the only one which I know of which is truly so. Some others here (such as the well respected Fruitgirl for one) had Âdissed Joan J in the flavor department. At the time, I couldnÂt see it because mine tasted fine. But, this year was different. During the beginning of the year, they tasted pretty darn lousy but then they seemed to get better as the year went on. IÂm wondering if it had something to do with the record setting rains we had this spring and early summer here in RI. Perhaps Joan JÂs flavor is more subject to too much rain? IÂm not sure.

But, as Olpea points out, the thorns of most of my red and yellow raspberries really arenÂt that bad. Black raspberry thorns are a bit vicious. And thorny blackberries are definitely quite vicious (which is why I really prefer thornless blackberries). But, because the reds/yellow thorns arenÂt bad at all, I wouldnÂt limit yourself to the very few thornless varieties.

The part I didnÂt know how to answer in the best technical manner was the "suckering out from the crown". IÂm drawing a blank on what this trait is called, but it must have one. (IÂm sure IÂll slap myself when someone reminds me). Anyway, my Jewel black raspberries have this quality. If I plant one plant years later, there will still be a local grouping of 2-5 canes within a 1" diameter. (But, they are very thorny, so perhaps this isnÂt a good candidate for you) In my case, the same red/yellow raspberry would have exploded to fill any bed within 3 years. My Chester, Triple Crown, and Doyle blackberries and I believe my hybrid Wyeberry also have this quality youÂre looking for.

So based on all of this might you prefer some thornless blackberries instead? YouÂll need to wait about 15 months after you plant them to start harvesting your berries, and youÂll need to provide them some strong support (If you click on my "My Page", you can see what I mean). Stay away from the thornless blackberries with native-American sounding names because I believe all of them do sucker out from the crown.

Where in 6b are you located exactly?

Get back to us on which way your leaning, and we can probably help steer you further.

Hope this helps,
-Glenn

Thanks so much for your help. I guess thorns aren't as terrible as I thought.
To answer your question, I'm near Reading, PA in zone 6b. I really would love to grow my own raspberries, but space is sort of limited. I guess if I could design the perfect raspberry plant it would have the following characteristics:

1. Under 4 feet tall or one that doesn't require much, if any, support.
2. Everbearing- So I could just cut down the entire plant at the end of the season.
3. Slow-spreading- I don't want them to get completely out of control.

Is there any hope?
Thanks again.
Kim

Hi Kim-
In addition to being thornless, Joan J is also my shortest raspberry. I'm not sure though if this is a trait of Joan J, or something local to their soil etc. But, there is flavor issue.

IMHO, I always give my raspberries support. In my mind, they then put more energy into the berries, and less into standing up. But, I've never had anyone confirm that suspicion. That said, I know many people don't give 'em support.

It's really hard to meet all your criteria.

If it were me, in your situation, I'd plant some everbearing Caroline Raspberries. They're one of my favorites. I'd say their thorns are about moderate for raspberries. Their flavor is reputed one of the best reds, and I concur. Yes, you can mow them down at the end of the season, and that will give you one fall crop.

Caroline is about average height for raspberries... probably under 4' tall.

But, Caroline will indeed spread, so you want to plan for containment. Many people put down barriers more than 12-15" down to accomplish this. Me, I just use simple black edging, and anything that tries to grow outside of that gets whacked by the mower.

I'd place an order at www.NourseFarms.com in Massachusetts between now and January. They are known to be THE place to buy raspberries. I wouldn't wait any longer than that as they sell out. They'll ship to you in April some time.

Hope this helps,
-Glenn

There aren't any raspberries that won't eventually spread, but if you mow regularly around the patch, it shouldn't be a problem. As to thorns, Joan J is currently the only thornless one, and as others have said, I personally think it's nasty. The prickles that raspberries have are nothing like the thorns that blackberries have, so I defintely wouldn't make my choice based on thornlessness. I like Glenn's recommendation of Caroline. It's superb. As for height, here in the PNW, Joan J is a jungle plant...canes can easily get 8' long!

Thank you so much for the recommendations. Caroline was one that stood out in my old seed catalogs. I'm glad to see that it lives up to the descriptions I've seen. Looks like Caroline is for me! Again, thank you for taking the time to answer all of my questions. You're a great resource!
Kim

Hi,

I came across this conversation while looking for a small slow spreading raspberry plant a website selling a raspberry plant that stays small. Do you think its really something that will stay small? Here is a link to where I found it. Thank you for you experienced advice!

www.starkbros.com/products/berry-plants/raspberry-plants/bushel-and-berry-raspberry-shortcake

Yes, they stay small - I grow mine (3 Raspberry Shortcakes) in containers, which is actually the characteristic it was bred for. And quite productive for all that!! Going into their 4th year.