Cornell University’s two newest raspberry varieties — Crimson Beauty and Crimson Blush — offer growers two different growth structures and two different growing windows, says Courtney Weber, who leads Cornell AgriTech’s berry breeding program.
The new varieties join other releases by the university, including Crimson Treasure, Crimson Giant and Crimson Night.
“They kind of bracket the season, and they actually cover the majority of the season,” explains Weber, who is also professor and head of Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Crimson Beauty
Crimson Beauty is an early-season primocane, which begins harvesting in late July.
“There’s nothing on the market in this window,” Weber says.
Crimson Beauty has an upright structure, and canes tend to be around 5 feet to 5.5 feet tall.
Weber says the variety is suited for tunnel production to get a jump on growth.
“Because it’s so early, you want to encourage as much growth as you can, and you want to warm up the season early, with tunnels that get them growing so that they can get as much height as possible,” he says.
Weber says Crimson Beauty boasts a full raspberry flavor and a juicy mouthfeel and small seeds.
“It’s large-fruited,” he says. “It’s a glossy kind of medium red. I think it’s very attractive.”
The variety has shown good resilience in the field, he says, noting test plots are still producing eight years later, which is a long lifespan for a perennial berry.
Crimson Blush
At the end of the growing season, Weber says, is Crimson Blush. There’s about a 45-day difference in maturity between it and Crimson Beauty, he adds.
“Both of them hold their color well, in that they don’t darken to that overripe kind of maroon color that you see in some of the older varieties,” he explains.
Weber says Crimson Blush offers a wider fruit that is plump and luscious in appearance and eats well. It also holds well, he says, starting in September with warm temperatures and then fruits into the cool temperatures of November. Crimson Blush produces fruit that is blush pink to a light red and is a heavy producer.
“It’s a taller, more vigorous plant,” Weber says. “Canes can be 7 feet tall. That’s due in part because it has so much more time to grow before it flowers. Crimson Blush is an extremely heavy crop load, and part of that’s just the size of the cane.”
Weber says some of that is due to early fruiting varieties not having as much cane to grow on, given the shorter growing season, where later fall varieties have more time in the year to grow canes, and thus, more fruit.
“We’ve been very happy with the yield on both of those,” he says.
While Crimson Beauty might be more self-supporting due it its growth structure, Crimson Blush needs a trellis system for support. And both varieties, too,
Weber says he sees good potential for Crimson Beauty in the South. Crimson Treasure, another Cornell release, has done well in North Carolina, and he says he could see similar success with Crimson Beauty.
