Allen Black Raspberry Plant

A reliable favorite for flavor, size, and cold hardiness. The Allen Black Raspberry Plant is a standout variety that delivers large harvests of firm, glossy black fruit with rich, sweet flavor. It’s an ideal pick for home gardeners who want high performance and consistent yields year after year.

This cultivar is a cross between two classic black raspberry varieties—Bristol and Cumberland—and it’s known for combining the best traits of both: exceptional taste, cold tolerance, and strong disease resistance. Allen produces fruit in mid-summer, typically ripening in July, and thrives in USDA Zones 4–8, making it a great option for northern climates.

The berries are juicy and aromatic, perfect for fresh eating, preserves, and baking. Plants are self-pollinating, so only one is needed for fruit production, though multiple plants can boost your harvest.

• Large, glossy black raspberries with superior sweet flavor
• Ripens in July (mid-season)
• Cold-hardy and adaptable; great for Zones 4–8
• Vigorous, productive variety with dependable annual yields
• Disease-resistant and easy to grow with proper pruning

Whether you’re planting a few for the backyard or adding to a larger berry patch, Allen offers a balance of reliability, productivity, and old-fashioned raspberry flavor.

Note: Do not plant Red, Gold or Purple raspberries within 75-100 feet of Black raspberries. Black raspberries may be more susceptible to viral diseases carried by aphids to and from nearby raspberry plants.

After planting, be sure to prune the bare-root canes back to about 2 inches above the ground. (This does not apply to potted raspberry plants.) Do not skip this step! It is a crucial factor in encouraging the roots to send up new growth during the growing season. It is in the nature of raspberry plants to send up new growth as suckers or basal shoots from below the ground. This means the canes that you plant may not be where you find signs of life or new growth. When it’s time to grow, you will see new sprouts emerge from the ground around where you planted the cane, and this growth is coming from the raspberry plant’s root system.