| Bramble Type | Pros and Cons | Varieties | Regional Adaptation |
| Raspberry, June-bearing | Red to purple fruits ripen all at once in early summer on spiny arching one-year-old canes. Provide trellis or grow plants on a fence. | Early-ripening ‘Prelude’ has great flavor, but later-ripening ‘Lauren’ is even sweeter. | Easy to grow in any climate with cold winters. Canes hardy to at least minus 15 degrees; hardiness varies with variety. |
| Raspberry, black, early summer-bearing | Black fruits ripen over a three-week period in early summer on thorny arching canes. Grow on a fence, or manage as a thicket. | ‘Jewel’ is often more productive than wild strains. All are choice berries for making juice and wine. | Best in the Appalachians and Midwest, which are the native ranges of this species. Hardy to minus 15 degrees. |
| Raspberry, fall-bearing | Red, purple or yellow berries ripen from late summer to frost on upright spiny canes. They require minimal trellising and tolerate partial shade. | ‘Royalty,’ ‘Autumn Britten’ and other varieties need little maintenance; simply cut them back to the ground in late winter. | Plants bear on new growth, will grow in warmer climates with limited winter chilling. Winter hardy to minus 20 degrees; hardiness varies with variety. |
| Blackberry, summer-bearing | Glossy black berries ripen in summer. Grow on a fence or trellis, or manage as a thicket. Many varieties lack thorns. | Thornless ‘Triple Crown’ produces bumper crops, even when pruned to a pillar. | Not as cold-hardy as raspberries, but they’re easy to grow where temperatures seldom dip below minus 10 degrees. |
| Blackberry, fall-bearing | Glossy black berries ripen in fall on upright spiny canes. Require minimal trellising. | Two new varieties, ‘Prime-Jim’ and ‘Prime-Jan,’ represent this blackberry type. | Plants bear on new growth, so they are minimally affected by extreme winter cold or late freezes. Hardy to at least minus 20 degrees. |
