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A world first in raspberries — compact size and super-early cropping 🍓
Family: Rosaceae · Pot diameter: 13cm · organically grown · Height: approximately 40–45cm
Rubus idaeus LOWBERRY® ‘Little Sweet Sister’ brings freshly picked raspberries within reach of the terrace table. Its short, upright canes carry dark-red fruit with a sweet, fruity flavour and a gentle touch of acidity. The low, full silhouette gives a single pot the character of a small edible garden. Successive waves of ripening fruit turn an ordinary visit to the terrace into another chance to pick something delicious.
Set beside seating, the fruit remains visible among the compound leaves and comfortably within reach. It also works at the front of a small kitchen garden, where its low silhouette leaves the view open. A simple, single-colour pot lets the red harvest stand out against the foliage.
‘Little Sweet Sister’ combines genuinely dwarf size with unusually early fruiting on new canes.
It begins before many other raspberries that fruit on new canes.
Short strong canes stand in a large container with only a small support.
Medium dark-red berries offer clean sweet flavour for fresh picking.
Why you will love it: It quickly gives a real harvest where a classic tall raspberry would be impractical.
Give sun or bright partial shade and a container of at least 30–40 litres. On a hot terrace choose morning sun and shade the pot.
Three very low flowering plants surround the container without hiding the small fruiting shrub.
Sun or bright partial shade; afternoon protection during prolonged heat.
Even moisture from flowering until the end of harvest.
Very good hardiness to about −20°C; insulate the container during prolonged frost.
Wash fully ripe fruit before eating.
Plant in deep fertile soil that drains well yet stays cool. Add organic mulch around the roots without covering the cane bases.
Water deeply when the top few centimetres dry. Even moisture from flowering to harvest helps fruit fill uniformly.
The low crown normally stands without a tall support. A low ring can help heavily loaded canes. Thin only weak, overcrowded new growth and leave the tips intact.
In early spring add mature compost and a balanced fruit-plant feed according to its label. Avoid excess nitrogen.
Mulch the roots, remove weeds by hand and pick frequently. During prolonged heat, provide light afternoon shade.
Do not crowd the centre, keep the container evenly moist and pick every one or two days from mid-July.
It is self-fertile and crops alone. Bees and bumblebees help the berries develop evenly.
Harvest begins very early, from mid-July, and continues in waves through summer.
Pick when fruit is deep red and releases cleanly with a gentle lift.
Secure netting to a separate frame as fruit begins to colour and leave easy access for frequent picking.
After planting: keep canes complete, water consistently and add a low support only if they lean.
Late winter, complete low cut
‘Little Sweet Sister’ fruits on canes grown in the same year. In late winter cut the entire old set 3–5cm above soil and in spring retain a few strong new canes.
Action: In late winter, cut all old canes that carried fruit down close to ground level.
Retain: Retain the crown and any new buds beginning to emerge.
Action: Remove only weak new canes where the clump is very overcrowded.
Retain: Retain strong new canes with air between them and intact tips.
Action: As this year’s canes develop, do not pinch out their tips.
Retain: Retain the upper nodes and tips where flowers and fruit develop.
Use sharp, clean tools suited to the diameter of the wood.
Let foliage fall and make the low cut once canes are dormant.
Do not do this: Do not tip it to keep it lower; compact form is natural and fruit forms high on new canes.
Short strong shoots rise from a clean crown in spring.
Upper nodes form flowers earlier than on many autumn raspberries.
Red berries ripen around the outside of the low crown.
Several short canes rise from the crown and fruit towards their tops in the same year. The low habit keeps harvesting accessible without a tall trellis.
The studies show habit and seasonal development; growth varies with age, climate and cultivation.
What to expect after planting: Short strong shoots rise from a clean crown in spring.
Rubus idaeus LOWBERRY® ‘Little Sweet Sister’ was introduced within Lubera’s family of small fruiting plants. The collection brings harvests to smaller gardens and pots through plants with naturally restrained growth.
In this selection, cane growth switches early to flowering and fruit forms within the same growing season. That developmental pattern explains its low habit and early start to cropping. Its story is that of a raspberry adapted to a smaller scale, combining dark-red, flavourful fruit with successive ripening.
The tip switches early from vegetative to floral growth. Once flower differentiation begins, strong cane elongation stops and the habit remains compact.
Flower buds differentiate without the cane first requiring winter dormancy. New cane, flower and ripe fruit can therefore occur within one growing season.
Six practical answers for choosing, growing, harvesting and pruning this exact cultivar.
It is self-fertile and crops alone. Bees and bumblebees help the berries develop evenly.
0.7–0.9m high and approximately 0.5–0.7m wide, with the habit described above.
Yes, it is designed for a 30–40-litre container with low support and consistent watering.
From mid-July, once dark-red fruit releases cleanly from the core.
No. A low circular support is enough only to keep heavily loaded canes upright.
In late winter every old cane is cut 3–5cm above soil.
