About Raspberry Octavia 5's

Bred at East Malling Research, Octavia is named after the Roman month of August thereby suggesting its fruiting period, bridging the gap between summer and autumn fruiting varieties. Widely used commercially, the large juicy fruits are uniform, firm & have a superb sweet flavour. The succulent berries are well displayed in prominent clusters and are easily plugged for a trouble-free picking experience. It is a moderately vigorous variety that prolifically crops all the way down to the base of the fruiting cane. Octavia is particularly noted for its excellent shelf life.

• Self fertile
• Planting Distance 45m apart
• Height & Spread 80m x 50cm
• Crops July/ August

An ideal fruit to grow in a container or small garden, the raspberry is a British classic. The Octavia is a hardy and easy to grow variety bred in the UK and often used by commercial growers. It produces fruit from late July to late August and is great for new growers and expert cooks alike. Thick woody stems produce light green serrated leaves and dangling clusters of wine-red fruit. A great and refreshing fruit that goes well with yogurt, ice cream or on its own the sweet juice of the raspberry goes amazing well with lemonade or if crushed up with gin and tonic water.

How to look after your raspberries

Raspberries prefer moist, well-drained soil in full sun, or light shade. Feed with a liquid fertilizer once in the spring to encourage a good yield. Repot every 2-3 years into the same pot or slightly larger. Trim back some of the roots and tease away the old soil replacing it with fresh compost. Trim twice-yearly and in July, trim all new side shoots to 5 leaves. In winter, cut back main stems by half and any side shoots back to 2 buds. Any stems that are damaged, dead or out of place can also be removed.

How do you harvest raspberries?

Raspberries can be picked in early to mid-summer, the plant will produce small white or pink flowers that will soon fall off to reveal the young fruit. Over the next few months, the fruit will grow inside and change from green to black. Once the whole fruit has gone wine-red you can harvest the fruit by pinching it and twisting it off the stem. Avoid pulling the fruit as it may not come off completely.

How do you store raspberries?

Once picked a raspberry will not last long. If you want to preserve your fruits for longer you can either blend the fruits into a thick juice which you can freeze or freeze whole fruits in an airtight b