Flowering Raspberry vs Capilano Apricot - TreeTime.ca

Flowering Raspberry vs Capilano Apricot

Rubus odoratus

Prunus Capilano

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Flowering Raspberry
Capilano Apricot

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

Capilano Apricot is a cold-hardy variety known for its sweet, juicy, full-flavored fruit. It produces white to pink blooms in early spring, before the leaves emerge, followed by golden-yellow, freestone apricots. They ripen from mid-July to early August and are well-suited for fresh eating, baking, wine, canning, and preserves.

The Capilano Apricot originated from three trees planted in Edmonton’s Capilano neighbourhood during the 1960s. As they began producing fruit, local fruit enthusiasts took notice and propagated the trees, with the southernmost becoming particularly popular. Though the original trees no longer exist, the Capilano Apricot remains a widely sought-after cold-hardy variety.

Capilano Apricot is generally considered self-pollinating, but planting with another variety for cross-pollination can increase yields.

Note: The early bloom time makes the flowers vulnerable to spring frosts, which can reduce or eliminate the fruit crop

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Capilano Apricot Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3b
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 8 m (25 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 6 m (20 ft)
Light: any
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: spreading to rounded
Spreading: suckering - low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: high


Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: purple
Flowers: white to pink
Bloom time: early spring
Fruit: freestone apricots
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Fruit size: 5cm in diameter
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Flavor: sweet, slightly tart
Harvest: mid summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry