Looking for an afghan of vibrant green that is different than ivy and offers
semi-evergreen to evergreen
color, a hardy personality, great coverage and flowers and fruit to boot?
Creeping Raspberry may be the perfect choice for you with a unique, densely branched, trailing personality that promises a
moderate
to
fast
growth rate and a willingness to grow in
full sun
or
part sun.
Her heart-shaped crinkly leaves (3/4 -1 1/2 inch) are a bright emerald shade on top and grey-green beneath in spring and summer, turning burgundy in fall and winter.
They appear almost puckered due to their deep veins and are often called wrinkly because of the lovely textured appearance.
Wonderful little
white
flowers (1/2 inch) are followed by tiny amber
fruit
that resembles a raspberry (thus the name) and will attract
birds
for certain.
Whether you are a city or country gardener, you'll find Creeping Raspberry performs beautifully in both urban and rural settings, is willing to tolerate difficult sights such as hot, dry, erodable
slopes
or even ditches where moisture fluctuates.
In fact, not only will she survive harsh conditions, Creeping Raspberry tends to thrive in them!
Once established, it displays reasonable
drought tolerance
and only requires occasional watering in hot/dry weather.
It adapts to most well-drained soils, and deer tend to avoid it.
If you need a soil binding plant, Creeping Raspberry performs famously at
erosion control
in addition to being well suited for roadside plantings and large-scale facing for tree and shrub
borders.
In addition, this plant looks particularly nice when rambling over rocks,
cascading
over walls, and grown in a raised bed or container.
One of the most stunning applications for her is cascading around a water feature, creek bank or pond where her rich color and curvy foliage seem to fly right along with the moving water in a magical way.
Gardener Tips
Creeping Raspberry creeps along the ground by forming
runner.
You can easily propagate Creeping Raspberry by detaching a rooted runner from its mother plant.
Although it is aggressive, this plant is not invasive. It doesn't climb trees or smother nearby shrubs making it an excellent less-invasive alternative to ivy.