Royalty Purple Raspberry

Royalty is the purple raspberry that converts skeptics — a vigorous, heat-tolerant hybrid between red and black raspberry that produces some of the largest, most richly flavored berries you can grow in a Southern garden. Developed at Cornell University, Royalty was bred specifically for productivity and flavor, and it delivers on both counts: the berries ripen from red through a deep burgundy-purple and peak in flavor at full purple, when they are sweeter, less tart, and more complex than either of their parent species. The flavor is genuinely distinctive — richer and more jammy than a red raspberry, without the seedy intensity of a black — and the yield is impressive, with long clusters of large berries that make harvest feel rewarding rather than tedious. Royalty also handles Georgia's summers considerably better than most red raspberries, thanks to its black raspberry parentage, making it one of the more realistic options for growers in the warmer parts of the state who have struggled with raspberries before.

Latin Name: Rubus 'Royalty'

Site and Soil: Full sun to part shade; well-drained, slightly acidic soil amended with organic matter — benefits from afternoon shade and consistent moisture in the hottest microclimates; avoid poorly drained low spots 

Pollination Requirements: Self-fertile; does not require a second variety but benefits from nearby red or black raspberry for cross-pollination

Size at Maturity: 5–6' h x 3–4' w; arching canes are more sprawling than upright red varieties and benefit from sturdy trellis support

Ripening Time: Mid to late season — typically midsummer in Georgia; a floricane variety that fruits on second-year canes; harvest berries at full purple for peak sweetness and complexity

Pests & Diseases: Good overall vigor and resilience; shares the black raspberry's stronger constitution in humid conditions — well-drained soil and good air circulation are the most important cultural practices

USDA Zone: 4–8 

A Note on Cane Management: Royalty fruits on second-year floricanes. Remove canes that have finished fruiting at the base after harvest and allow current-season canes to overwinter for the following year's crop. The arching habit means tip-layering is easy if you want to propagate new plants — cane tips that touch the ground will root readily on their own.