Glen Ample Raspberry Canes

• Variety: Glen Ample, heavy crops on canes without thorns
• Fruit type: Raspberry, Rubus idaeus 'Glen Ample'
• Group: Summer fruiting (floricane): it fruits on last year's canes
• Harvest: July to September
• Fruit: Large, deep red and conical. Freezes well
• Use: Fresh, jam, crumbles
• Self-fertile: Yes
• Height: 1.5-2.5m (5-8ft)
• Thorns: None
• Support: Posts and wires, about 1.8m high
• Spacing: 45cm apart, in rows 1.5-2m apart
• Soil: Moist and well drained, acid to neutral, with manure or compost dug in
• Position: Full sun, sheltered
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• RHS AGM: Yes (2000)
• Wildlife value: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Pruning: Fruited canes to the ground after picking. Tie in the new ones
• Stock: UK grown and certified virus-free
• Sold as: Bareroot canes, cut back to 45-60cm
• Plant: November to April, while dormant
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Glen Ample is a mid-season summer raspberry with heavy crops of large, deep red fruit from July on spine-free canes, and it holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It fruits on last year's canes, so it needs wires, and the first full crop comes in its second summer.

Glen Ample Raspberry Plants

Glen Ample is the most prolific of the mid-season raspberries, ripening from the first week of July and continuing to produce tasty plump berries until September, trailing off little by little from August. What's great about this variety is that the stems are pretty much free of thorns, and there's not a huge amount of foliage either, so picking is a simple, painless affair. Add to that its superb disease-resistance and you'll understand why it's up there as one of the most sought-after of our raspberry canes.

Growing Guide

This stately UK-grown raspberry will appreciate a sunny spot in the garden, where it'll fruit to its very best abilities. If you want to extend your supply of raspberries right to the end of autumn, plant it alongside a later-fruiting variety such as classic Autumn Bliss or award-winning Polka. Whatever you grow Glen Ample with, it'll thrive in good, moist soil (they detest extremes of dry or damp) that has had plenty of well-rotted manure or compost dug in. It'll need fixing to horizontal wires and, like all summer-fruiting raspberries, fruited canes should be cut down to the ground in November. The new canes that are yet to bear fruit should be left, but thinned out to 20cm apart, picking out any that are thin or weak. In line with general practice, all our raspberries are delivered with last year's growth cut back to 45-60cm, so summer raspberries may only bear a few berries in the first summer, then many more the year after.

History & Trivia

Glen Ample was bred in Dundee, Scotland, a result of a 1978 cross between two earlier varieties, and selected for its outstanding yield, colour, flavour and size. From that trial 40 years ago, it's now become the most widely grown raspberry in the UK.

Standard practice is to deliver raspberry canes with last year's growth cut back to 45-60 cm.

Therefore, summer fruiting raspberries will bear few, if any, berries in the Summer following planting. Their first full fruiting season will be in the year after.

Planting Companions

One variety cannot cover the whole season, but two can come close. Autumn Bliss picks up as Glen Ample tails off and carries on to the frosts. To start sooner, Glen Lyon opens the raspberry year, and Octavia, a daughter of Glen Ample, fills the gap at the end of summer. The rest are under soft fruit bushes. Plant with Rootgrow, and read our raspberry growing guide first.

Why buy from Ashridge?

Glen Ample has held the RHS Award of Garden Merit since 2000. Your canes are UK grown and certified virus-free, and arrive bareroot and dormant, the way raspberries establish fastest. Ashridge Nurseries was named Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Bareroot plants are guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I prune Glen Ample raspberries?

After picking, cut the canes that fruited to the ground: they will not fruit again. Keep six to eight of the strongest new canes on each plant and tie them to the wires for next year.

Does Glen Ample need support?

Yes. Summer raspberries want posts about 1.8m high with horizontal wires between them. The canes reach 1.5 to 2.5m, and tying them in keeps the fruit clean and the picking easy.

Why did my new summer raspberries barely fruit?

That is as designed. Glen Ample fruits on canes grown the year before, and yours arrive cut back to 45 to 60cm. Expect a handful in the first summer and the real crop in the second.

Is Glen Ample thornless?

Yes. The RHS describes heavy crops on spine-free canes, and there is not much leaf in the way either, so picking is quick and painless.

What is the difference between summer and autumn raspberries?

Summer raspberries fruit on last year's canes and autumn ones on this year's. That decides the pruning, so fix it in your mind before you cut anything. Glen Ample is a summer raspberry.

How far apart do I plant Glen Ample canes?

45cm between plants, inside the RHS range of 40 to 60cm, with 1.5 to 2m between rows. Plant shallow: a few centimetres of soil over the roots is enough.