edenhana

Boysenberry

New Zealand grows more boysenberries than almost anywhere else in the world, with Nelson the country's main growing region and the fruit going largely into juice, jam and frozen berries rather than the fresh fruit bowl. A genuinely vigorous, sprawling cane fruit, it needs a strong permanent trellis and considerably more space than raspberry to sprawl into. Traditional varieties are thorny and need careful handling at harvest; thornless boysenberry cultivars, now widely sold at NZ garden centres, are the easier choice for a home garden.

Sun
full sun
Water
moderate
Spacing
200cm
Harvest
Ready in about 1-2 years
Difficulty
intermediate
Grows in
Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago, Invercargill / Southland
Expected yield
4-8kg per mature plant per season
Cost to grow
~$15 NZD
Grocery value
~$70 NZD
Mature height
2m
Flowering season
Oct, Nov
Evergreen
No, deciduous
Common diseases
Cane blight, Botrytis (grey mould) in wet conditions
Common pests
Birds (fruit), Aphids

When to plant by region

In Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson and Tasman: June-August. In Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago and Invercargill / Southland: July.

Growing stages

  1. Planting & establishmentBare-root, winter

    • Install a strong, permanent trellis or wire system before planting; boysenberry canes are far more vigorous and sprawling than raspberry
    • Choose a thornless variety for easier home-garden handling, unless you're specifically after a traditional thorny type
    • Water while establishing; this is a moderate-water plant once settled in

  2. Early growthFirst 1-2 years

    • Train new canes onto the trellis as they grow rather than letting them sprawl along the ground
    • Watch for cane blight (dying, brittle canes) and remove affected canes at ground level
    • First proper crop is usually 1-2 years away

  3. Flowering & fruiting

    • Self-fertile, so a single plant crops well alone, but bees visiting the flowers still improve fruit set; avoid spraying open flowers
    • Net the plant as fruit ripens in early-to-mid summer; birds will take a crop quickly
    • Botrytis (grey mould) can affect fruit in wet weather; good airflow through the canopy helps

  4. MaturityOngoing annual harvest

    • Established plants yield 4-8kg per season, ready earlier in summer than most other berries
    • Cut out canes that have just fruited at ground level after harvest, the same technique used for summer-fruiting raspberry, to make room for new canes
    • Wear gloves at harvest if growing a traditional thorny variety

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