Rubus odoratus

The Rubus odoratus, also known as Canadian Raspberry or Fragrant Bramble, is a highly floriferous, slightly scented, thornless wild bush that has its place in a natural garden or in a country hedge. Vigorous and suckering, it offers a very long summer flowering in the form of bouquets of small flowers in a fresh pink colour, enhanced by a velvety foliage of emerald green. They will be followed by bright red fruits that are not very tasty but decorative and appreciated by birds. Hardy and undemanding in terms of soil, requiring very little maintenance, this charming and unpretentious plant is within the reach of all gardeners, even beginners. 

The Fragrant Bramble belongs to the family of Rosaceae. Introduced to Europe in 1770, this suckering plant with shallow rooting is native to a vast area ranging from the eastern United States to Canada. Its natural habitat consists of moist rocky slopes, meadows, and plains covered with mixed forests, where it appreciates semi-shaded edges. This cold-resistant bush is perfectly adapted to cooler climates, but it prefers slightly acidic soils and dislikes excessive limestone.

Growing quite rapidly, a plant will eventually form a bushy and spreading mass that will occupy a space of 1.40m (5ft) in all directions. It spreads laterally through rhizomes, producing shoots in the usual manner of raspberries. Flowering, which is very long in this bramble, spans from June to September. It consists of 3cm (1in) diameter flowers with 5 petals, very fragrant and nectar-rich. Their colour varies from white-pink to pink-purple, depending on the clones. The fruits are large, flattened, and rough-textured raspberries, not very juicy and containing many seeds. They are quite tasteless when consumed as they are, but they reveal a more pleasant flavour in jams. The hollow, upright and then trailing stems, ranging from mahogany brown to orange, are devoid of thorns and tend to peel off with age. When young, they are covered with glandular hairs with a resinous scent. They bear large deciduous leaves, 10 to 30cm (4 to 12in) wide, divided into 5 toothed lobes. The hairy, licorice-scented lamina has a wavy appearance and displays a beautiful emerald-green color before turning yellow in autumn.

Plant the Fragrant Bramble preferably in partial shade, in deep soil without excessive limestone. Under these conditions, the bush will establish itself very easily and in a few years will become an ornamental plant that fits perfectly in a country setting, a wild hedge, or a natural garden. In a hedge or within a large shrub bed, combine this bramble with other unpretentious plants such as wild rose bushes, white spireas, elderberries, viburnums, lilacs, hedge or Tartarian honeysuckles, or even deciduous euonymus. It can also be used to form an area of ground cover, decorating a wild corner or a semi-shaded slope with carpets of periwinkles, Polygonum, creeping bugleweeds, all of which are vigorous plants that are also undemanding. It can also be trained on a trellis. Its hollow stems can be used to make refuges and shelters for various insects in winter.