This variety of everbearing red raspberry produces abundant crops of large, mildly tart, dark red berries that are perfect for eating straight from the stems or for canning, freezing, or making jams and jellies. "Everbearing" means you can count on two yearly crops: one in July and another from September until frost. The self-supporting, upright canes prefer loamy, well-drained soils in full sun, but they also adapt to other types of well-drained soils, including poor. Partial sun is acceptable, though there will be fewer fruits.  Raspberries are shrubs belonging to the Rosaceae family, and 'Heritage' is a licensed variety of Cornell University.

It is crucial that berry bushes be pruned properly and regularly. Pruning increases the size and yield of the berries and helps to control the spread of disease.  Raspberries are unique because their roots and crowns are perennial, while their stems, or canes, are biennial. Raspberry plants send up new growth as suckers or basal shoots around the original cane, and pruning is an important factor in encouraging these new growths. Using a trellis or other support may make it easier to manage the thorny canes.
 
First Season: (Doesn't apply to potted raspberry plants.) After planting the bare-root cane in spring, prune it back to a few inches above the ground. It will look like a bare stick. The new, green canes (primocanes) that emerge around the original cane will grow and develop leaves and brown bark. They may produce a small yield in the fall. In winter, they will become dormant, and during the next growing season they will be known as "floricanes." The floricanes produce fruit in July and then die, while the primocanes take over and produce a hefty yield in September. 
 
Pruning Directions: In late winter/early spring, cut all dead, old, weak, diseased, and damaged canes to ground level. Next, trim the vigorous, second-year floricanes to 3 to 5 feet. Remember, these were the primocanes that fruited in the fall of the previous year. They will fruit a second time in July. This season's primocanes will bloom in September, go dormant, and be ready to go the following spring. Repeat this pruning process at the same time each  year, and you'll enjoy delicious raspberries for many seasons! Some gardeners prefer to simply  cut all the canes to the ground in spring, which results in one crop in mid-August.

Tips:
Remove suckers that spread too far from the shrub to maintain good air circulation between nearby plants.
Water one inch per week from spring until harvest.
Mulch the plants yearly with compost or aged manure. 
Try to harvest every few days when it's sunny and dry. Ripe berries will pull off easily from the central receptacle. 
 
Note: Do not plant red, gold, or purple raspberries within 100 feet of black raspberries, which may be more susceptible to viral diseases carried by aphids between nearby raspberry plants. 
 
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 4-5' tall and 3-4' wide.
 
Requires full sun for best fruiting.
 
Prefers loamy, well-drained soils with 6.0-6.8 pH. Adapts to a range of well-drained soils. Tolerates poor, well-drained soils. 
 
Pink to white flowers are in clusters, but are occasionally solitary. Each flower has five petals, five sepals, five bracts, numerous stamens, and several pistils clustered on a cone-shaped core known as a receptacle. They bloom in April and May. Not technically a berry, the fruit consists of small drupes that are arranged in a cone around a hollow central cavity. Each drupelet contains juicy pulp and a single seed.
 
Raspberry leaves are alternate and compound. They have 3-5 five leaflets with serrated margins. They are usually broader than other berry leaves and are light greenish white in color.
 
Reproductive System: Self-fertile. Only one plant needed for fruit production.
 
Wildlife Value:
Attracts pollinators, bees, and butterflies for its nectar. The fruits are eaten by birds and small mammals, and the plants provide cover for wildlife.
 
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
An herb tea is made from the dried leaves, and some say that a type of tea made from raspberry and blackberry leaves is an excellent coffee substitute.
 
Resources:
The Martha Blog: https://www.themarthablog.com/2023/03/pruning-the-raspberry-bushes.html
 
North Carolina Extension: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rubus-idaeus/
 
Ohioline: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-1421
 
Stark Brothers: https://www.starkbros.com/products/berry-plants/raspberry-plants/heritage-red-raspberry?srsltid=AfmBOordmqwYV72EA1MPW6fydxaI2GyYNPNaPS0JUWf-pUzBWe5boAGD