Growing Raspberries

[Weedygarden]

I have tried a few times to grow raspberries, like blueberries, and have failed, so I am doing research to see if I can increase my odds of them growing this year. It seems that raspberries needs are different than the needs of blueberries, so I wanted another thread about growing them, with tips, suggestions and ideas.

 

[Weedygarden]

Notes from this video:

1. There are lots of varieties of raspberries--red, black, purple and others--white, golden.

2. There are two kinds of raspberry canes, primo canes, which are one year old canes. And then there are floricanes which are two year old canes. Primo canes are shorter and straight, thinner. Floricanes are thicker, taller, maybe branched. Thicker than a bigger marker.

3. There are summer bearing and fall bearing raspberries.

Summer bearing raspberry fruit on the floricanes canes, summer reds, blacks and purple raspberries.

Fall bearing bear fruit on primocanes (everbearing reds and yellow raspberries)

For summer bearing raspberries, you want to remove dead canes in late winter, early spring, cutting them off at ground level. Dispose of these canes as they often harbor insects or diseases. Remove dead, weak or small canes to thin out the patch. Remove winter killed tips of canes. For the second year floricanes, those canes can tip over. You want to reduce them to 5 to 8 inches.

Fall bearing raspberries. They start producing at the top and produce down the stem. The stems will be smaller. At the end of the season, you want to prune all those canes to the ground in the fall.

Keep about 8 canes per 4 foot rows.

4. With good conditions, a raspberry patch may last up to 15 years. Plant in full sun, at least 8 hours of sun per day. A wind break can help. Soil should be well drained, with good organic matter. Don't plant on poorly drained soil. Do not plant in the same place where strawberries, other raspberries, solanaceous (tomato, pepper, eggplant, white and red potato, and tomatillo), or other vining plants have grown in the previous four years.

5. Raspberries prefer a light but frequent watering, 1 to 3 inches of water per week. Drip irrigation reduces the possibility of diseases.

6. Raspberries prefer a good trellis system. A T shaped post on the ends of a row of plants with wires strung across at knee level strung between is good for growing raspberries.

7. Raspberries versus blackberries. Blackberries are full and a little larger. Raspberries tend to be hollow on the inside. Blackberries are not as hardy as raspberries and can be killed of by the cold. Blackberries can be erect, semi-erect, or trailing. They grow in a very similar manner to raspberries.

8. Erect blackberries need to be spaced 2 to 3 feet apart. Semi-erect cultivars need to be planted 5 to 6 feet apart. Blackberries needs are similar to raspberries needs in fertilizer, irrigation and planting. Trellis needs are also similar. Pruning is similar for summer raspberries.

Boysenberries, loganberries and tayberries are a variety of blackberry.

 

[joel]

I have a trailing raspberry, that was hybridized for the hot Sothern states.
The first was given to me by my mentor of all things plants.
If you let them run on the ground, they will grow to 10--15 feet long vines, in Spring the tips root & you have a crown & repeat.
I let them grow for a few years to get more plants & I now have a patch that is controlled by thick shade!
First time I picked raspberries they were red, but not ripe, after a half of gallon I found a really ripe berry & knew I had goofed.
Now I know to wait till they are transparent bright ruby red.
It maybe Raspberry, Caroline, but mine is not ever bear & it is over twenty years old.

 

[Tommyice]

I grow my raspberry canes in an old stock tank I brought home fro the barn decades ago. I put in 2 hybrids and the rest were dug out the woods we used to trail ride in.

 

[backlash]

The only tip I have is do not plant them where the cows can reach them. They ate every raspberry plant I had right down to the ground. They even pushed the fence down to get to them.

 

[joel]

The only tip I have is do not plant them where the cows can reach them. They ate every raspberry plant I had right down to the ground. They even pushed the fence down to get to them.

I had a Seven Sister Rose that cattle ate to the ground.

 

[joel]

Went to Ga to BILs, a friend brought him some blackberries that was sweet & big, so he planted a few in the little pots & the seed came up. He sold me a few for $1.00 each & I am going to see what they make, being seedling from what is a hybrid(????).
I ask him what he would do if the berries were pink & orange, he said he would charge more for the plants!

 

[Spikedriver]

So, raspberries grow wild all over the place where I grew up. They seem to like the edge of a brush line and will grow on any terrain, but very gentle slopes seem best to me. Often they can be seen along the edge of a railroad right-of-way in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

My pops always had two patches, one early and one late. He just planted into plain black dirt, made sure they got enough water, and kept the weeds out until the were well established. We also had wild ones in field fencelines, but those were hands off because of the possibility of herbicide/pesticide contamination.

 

[joel]

Raspberries are not growing wild here.
Blackberries & dewberries do, but not raspberries.
So I have some "tame" raspberries at home & on the farm.

 

[Weedygarden]

So, raspberries grow wild all over the place where I grew up. They seem to like the edge of a brush line and will grow on any terrain, but very gentle slopes seem best to me. Often they can be seen along the edge of a railroad right-of-way in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

When I lived in Kansas City, I learned that something else grows wild along railroad tracks, marijuana. I knew people who would go out looking for it, but they would go to the bottoms of the rivers. Of course that strain was nothing like the strains being grown today. It was in these conversations about it growing by the river that I heard that it grows along the railroad tracks. I have driven around in Nebraska in the country enough to have seen it there, but that was a few decades ago. I would imagine that it has been hit with weed poison now to eliminate it.

 

[DWinCO]

I have a double 50 ft row. We originally had these in our garden but they spread too much & overtook the garden. I transplanted them into this row. The black raspberries seem to do better than red. I dig up new shoots and keep the big row contained. Need water but everything here needs water. I use a soaker hose. I think we started with a dozen plants years ago.

 

[viking]

I don't know about raspberries, but blueberries love acidic soil. We have a lot of blackcaps, black raspberries, that grow wild in the surrounding mountains and sometimes show up on our property, they transplant easily as I have taken one I've found and moved them into my fenced garden. The volunteer blackcaps are probably from birds that pooped seeds out or accidentally dropped the berries. Blackcaps are supposed to be exceptionally healthy for us, they are full of polyphenols, Dr. Oz did a whole program about them.

 

[joel]

I don't know about raspberries, but blueberries love acidic soil. We have a lot of blackcaps, black raspberries, that grow wild in the surrounding mountains and sometimes show up on our property, they transplant easily as I have taken one I've found and moved them into my fenced garden. The volunteer blackcaps are probably from birds that pooped seeds out or accidentally dropped the berries. Blackcaps are supposed to be exceptionally healthy for us, they are full of polyphenols, Dr. Oz did a whole program about them.

Fruiting Plants:	Ideal pH
Apple	5.5 – 6.5
Blackberry	5.0 – 6.0
Blueberry	4.0 – 6.0
Cherry	6.0 – 7.5
Crab Apple	5.0 – 6.0
Grapes	6.0 – 7.0
Orange	6.0 – 7.5
Peach	6.0 – 7.0
Pear	6.0 – 7.5
Plum	6.0 – 8.8
Raspberry, black	5.5 – 7.0
Raspberry, red	6.0 – 7.5
Strawberry	5.0 – 7.5

Note: The most ideal level, is the mid-point of a given range.

Simple, easy-to-use soil testers, help you to quickly determine if your soil pH needs an adjustment.

 

[Tootsie]

When I move my raspberries, I will plant them with heavy duty mat around them. It’s not landscape fabric, but something heavier, what I see on the floors of greenhouses. Berries do very well here, but spread so fast and seem to put more energy into spreading than producing. Once done, should be set for years. I noticed that this is what my serious grower neighbors do.

 

[Weedygarden]

Fruiting Plants:	Ideal pH
Apple	5.5 – 6.5
Blackberry	5.0 – 6.0
Blueberry	4.0 – 6.0
Cherry	6.0 – 7.5
Crab Apple	5.0 – 6.0
Grapes	6.0 – 7.0
Orange	6.0 – 7.5
Peach	6.0 – 7.0
Pear	6.0 – 7.5
Plum	6.0 – 8.8
Raspberry, black	5.5 – 7.0
Raspberry, red	6.0 – 7.5
Strawberry	5.0 – 7.5

Note: The most ideal level, is the mid-point of a given range.

Simple, easy-to-use soil testers, help you to quickly determine if your soil pH needs an adjustment.

I planted my blueberries in straight sphagnum moss.

 

[joel]

I planted my blueberries in straight sphagnum moss.

What was the soil pH before you panted the blueberry plants??

 

[Weedygarden]

What was the soil pH before you panted the blueberry plants??

No soil. I planted the plants straight into pots with only the moss.

 

[joel]

How long have they been in pots & when do you root prune the plants?

No soil. I planted the plants straight into pots with only the moss.

 

[Weedygarden]

How long have they been in pots & when do you root prune the plants?

They have been in the pots about a month. I have never root pruned them.

 

[joel]

They have been in the pots about a month. I have never root pruned them.

I was on Gardenweb with a man who had high pH soil, so he grew his Blueberry plants in fifteen gallon pots.
He root pruned them every three to five years, I can not find the post where he talked about root pruning or I would give you a link. If I find any information on it I will post here.