Small is Beautiful

Raspberries are delicious – it’s hard to think of anyone who doesn’t love them – especially when they are freshly picked, but they do need a fair bit of space to crop well – until now. Thompson & Morgan have a new, compact and multi-branching raspberry called ‘Ruby Beauty’ that can be grown on its own in a 10 litre pot, or three to a 40 litre pot. T&M estimate that each plant will bear 1.5kg of fruit. They don’t need much in the way of support, but a few twiggy branches will stop them flopping. My raspberry canes have broken out of their allotted bed and are popping up in adjoining raised beds and paths, so I can really appreciate the benefit of compact, contained plants. Of course they won’t look as pretty as they do in the picture all year round, but at least you aren’t dealing with 2m canes flopping all over the place. One 9cm plant costs £9.99, three £19.99 (saving £9.98) or one 3 litre premium potted plant for £18.99 from 08445731818; www.thompson-morgan.com