🫐 Olympic Double Salmonberry

What it looks like

Why this variety

Olympic Double is the salmonberry that made gardeners call it the raspberry rose: a double-flowered clone discovered at the mouth of the Duckabush River in Washington in 1961, with fully double, deep cerise-pink flowers about 2 inches across, each with some 30 petals, opening in spring before and with the leaves on an arching, thicket-forming shrub. It is the salmonberry grown as an ornamental first — its flowers are the show — and it still fruits afterward, with large orange, raspberry-like berries that can be eaten fresh or made into pies. If you want a bramble that stops traffic in spring and feeds you in summer, Olympic Double is the one to plant.

The trade-off is fruit quantity and thicket habit: double flowers fertilize poorly, so Olympic Double’s harvest is lighter than a single-flowered salmonberry’s, and like all salmonberries it suckers and forms a thicket if left alone. Give it full sun to light shade, moist humus-rich soil, and room — or a contained bed — prune out old canes after fruiting, and enjoy the flowers as the main crop with berries as a bonus. In warm climates, give it afternoon shade and steady water, because a salmonberry that dries out drops its flowers and sulks for the season.

If you are new to choosing between cultivars, the Varieties Matter guide explains why the name after the plant matters as much as the plant itself. Olympic Double is a perfect example: it is not just a salmonberry in the abstract, it is a salmonberry with a specific job, a specific history, and specific strengths.

Florida honesty: salmonberry is a North Florida trial only — it is a Pacific Northwest woodland shrub that wants cool, moist conditions, and Florida heat tests it hard. In North Florida, try Olympic Double in light shade with moist, humus-rich soil and steady water, in the coolest spot you have. South of North Florida, do not bother; plant a heat-proof bramble instead. This guide is honest about that, because a salmonberry sold as a statewide promise would be a lie, however beautiful its double flowers are.

How to grow

Plant nursery stock in spring or fall, in full sun to light shade and moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil — salmonberry wants moisture, humus, and room, and it punishes drought and deep shade with thin fruit. Work worm castings and compost into a wide planting hole, space 4 to 5 feet apart, mulch thickly, and give it a contained bed or room to thicket, because salmonberry suckers and spreads. Water deeply at planting, prune out old canes after fruiting, and do not plant it in a hot, dry, sunny bed.

Set plants 4-5 feet apart in soil with a pH around 5.5-6.5. Work worm castings into the bed at planting and mulch to hold moisture. A well-fed salmonberry plant rewards that care directly: steadier growth, better bloom, and a show that actually shows up.

Water & feeding

Keep soil consistently moist but never waterlogged — salmonberry wants damp, woodland soil, like a forest edge, and it drops flowers and fruit in drought. Water at the soil line, mulch thickly to hold moisture, and feed lightly: castings and compost in spring is usually enough. In a dry spell, water deeply, and do not let a young shrub bake dry; in a wet spell, drainage is the care program, because crown rot in stagnant water kills brambles outright.

Common problems

• Thicket habit — salmonberry suckers and spreads; edit suckers in spring, prune old canes after fruiting, or give it a contained bed.
• Drought stress — flower and fruit drop mean the soil dried; water deeply, mulch thickly, and give it light shade in warm climates.
• Poor fruit set on double flowers — double-flowered types fertilize poorly and fruit lightly; plant single-flowered types for a real harvest.
• Cane borers and bramble pests on stressed plants — prune out affected canes promptly and keep plants vigorous with water and mulch.
• Failure in hot summers — salmonberry wants cool, moist conditions; in warm climates, treat fruit as a trial, not a promise.

Harvest

Pick berries in early to midsummer, when they turn yellow-orange to red and pull easily from the receptacle — salmonberry berries are soft, sweet-tart, and raspberry-like, best eaten fresh, made into pies and preserves, or frozen for later use. Pick gently, because ripe berries crush easily, and pick often, because a thicket ripens unevenly. Prune out fruited canes after harvest, edit suckers, and leave some berries for birds, which spread salmonberry seed far and wide — a reminder to keep your thicket contained and your harvest shared.

Saving seeds

Olympic Double is the salmonberry that made gardeners call it the raspberry rose: a double-flowered clone discovered at the mouth of the Duckabush River in Washington in 1961, with fully double, deep cerise-pink flowers about 2 inches across, each with some 30 petals, opening in spring before and with the leaves on an arching, thicket-forming shrub. It is the salmonberry grown as an ornamental first — its flowers are the show — and it still fruits afterward, with large orange, raspberry-like berries. As a named clone it is kept true by cuttings or suckers, not by seed — and double flowers fertilize poorly, so its harvest is lighter than a single-flowered salmonberry’s. Plant nursery stock in spring or fall, in full sun to light shade and moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. The full method is in the Saving seeds section of the Salmonberry guide.