‘Tulameen’ has become one of the leading fresh market red raspberry cultivars in the world. Some history helps to describe the cultivar and why it has become so important. ‘Tulameen’ is from the 1980 cross of ‘Nootka’ x ‘Glen Prosen’ made in the breeding program at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Pacific Agriculture Research Center (PARC) in British Columbia (BC) (1).
Tulameens, bred in British Columbia in the 1980s, are so venerated in England they are sold under that name instead of as raspberries. In the Pacific Northwest, Tulameens mostly are grown in the Puyallup and Skagit valleys in Washington, Willamette Valley in Oregon and Fraser Valley in British Columbia. They also are grown in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Chile.
“They have a classic sweet taste, a lovely color, are large, easy to harvest, very productive and have a good shelf life,” said Hugh Daubeny, who bred the raspberry while working for the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.