Found in much of the US and Canada, American red raspberry is a high-value wildlife plant and a mainstay for gardeners. The perennial roots produce biennial canes that form a semi-erect, spreading shrub most often reaching 3 to 6 feet tall and wide. Flowers form on second-year canes April to June, followed by tasty fruits made of many small drupes that surround a hollow cone. The shrub thrives in full sun and a wide range of well-drained, moist, acidic soils; however, it is found in both wet bogs and on dry slopes in the wild, which gives gardeners a broad palette of site choices. 
 
Native habitats include wet bogs and woods; dry, wooded slopes; and clearings. Use as a screen or barrier. Great for all kinds of gardens, such as rain, edible, or native gardens. 
 
Plant Characteristics:
Most often reaches 3-6' tall and wide, but can be taller and wider in optimal conditions.
 
Prefers full or part sun, producing fewer flowers/fruits in part sun.
 
Grows in a wide range of moist, well-drained, acidic soils, including clay and loamy.
 
Flower has 5 green sepals and 5 white petals. The green, aggregate fruit turns red or orange-yellow. 
 
Medium green to gray leaf is 3-6" long, pinnately compound with 3-7 leaflets. Margins are serrated or doubly serrated. Surface of leaf has accordian-like wrinkles and underside is pale green. 
 
Bark peels as canes mature. 
 
Wildlife Value:
Host plant for larvae of 146 Lepidoptera species, including crocus geometer, funerary dagger moth, spiny oak-slug moth and specialists lettered habrosyne and Scythris basilaris. Butterflies and other insects visit for nectar and pollen. Song birds, foxes, raccoons, and other small mammals eat the fruits.  During the winter, birds and small mammals eat the seeds left from rotted fruit. Deer and rabbits browse the leaves. The plant offers cover to many species of wildlife.
 
Resources:
North Carolina Extension
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rubus-idaeus-subsp-strigosus/
 
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