Double Gold Raspberry is a rare everbearing variety that defies the typical raspberry season by producing fruit twice a year across zones 5 to 7. This cultivar, introduced by Cornell University in 2012, earned its name for its dual-cropping nature: floricane berries ripen in July, while primocane fruit continues from September through frost. The raspberries display a striking peachy-gold to vibrant coral hue, reaching medium size on vigorous canes that mature 60 to 96 inches tall. Expect to wait one to two years for your first harvest, but once established, these plants deliver exceptional productivity and excellent flavor with minimal disease pressure.
Full Sun
Moderate
5-8
96in H x 60in W
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Moderate
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The peachy-coral fruit is stunning in fresh displays and farmer's market stands, combining ornamental appeal with serious productivity. Two harvests per year mean you're picking ripe berries in midsummer and again through the first frost, extending your season far beyond typical raspberries. The tender, juicy texture and excellent flavor make every berry worth the wait, and these plants shrug off common raspberry diseases with built-in resistance to Phytophthora root rot and Raspberry Ringspot Virus.
Double Gold raspberries shine in fresh eating straight from the cane, where their tender flesh and excellent flavor need no improvement. The vibrant peachy-coral color makes them a showstopper for farmer's markets and u-pick operations, where the unique hue draws customers and commands attention. These berries work beautifully in jams, preserves, and desserts, lending their distinctive color and flavor to any preparation where fresh raspberries would be used.
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Double Gold raspberries are typically sold as dormant bare-root canes or potted plants. Plant in early spring as soon as soil is workable, spacing canes 96 inches apart to allow for their mature spread. Dig a hole wide enough to accommodate the root system without crowding, and set the plant at the same depth it was growing previously. Water thoroughly after planting to settle soil around the roots.
Watch for the transition from green to peachy-gold to vibrant coral as your visual cue for ripeness. Berries are ready when they come off the cane with a gentle tug and feel slightly soft to the touch. Harvest in July for the floricane crop and continue picking from September through frost as primocane berries ripen. Pick every few days during peak production to encourage continued flowering and prevent overripe fruit from dropping.
As a primocane-type everbearing variety, Double Gold requires a different pruning strategy than traditional summer-bearing raspberries. To maximize both crops, leave floricanes (two-year-old canes) unpruned in winter so they produce summer fruit in July. After the summer crop finishes, prune those same canes to the ground. Primocanes (current-year growth) will then fruit in fall. If you prefer a single fall crop, you can mow all canes to the ground in late winter, sacrificing the summer harvest but simplifying management.
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“Double Gold emerged from Cornell University's breeding program in 2012, representing a deliberate effort to create a truly everbearing raspberry that could deliver two distinct crops in a single growing season. The variety combines the best traits of fall-bearing primocane types like Anne and Fall Gold, but with its own distinctive character. By engineering genetics for both summer floricane production and fall primocane bearing, breeders solved a problem home gardeners and commercial growers had long wrestled with: why settle for one harvest when you can have two?”