Moving away - Raspberry & Gooseberry advice please

[angie loves veg]

Hi all

We are moving house (a long way away!) next summer, probably June/July. I am a novice vegi gardener, so get rather confused by my fruits, but they are so fantastic it would be a shame to lose them...

Raspberries
I have a wonderful raspberry bed here - I don't know their variety (I cut them down to the ground each January), and would very much like to take some with me. I am assuming that it won't be too hard to take cuttings and get them going in pots to take with me, but when is the best time to do this, and how should I go about it?

Gooseberries
Roughly the same problem. This gooseberry bush was given as a present from my father about 5 years ago. Can I take the whole thing? Has anyone sucessfully moved a gooseberry plant before, or are cuttings the best way? Again, advice as to what to do please.

All advice very gratefully received....

[milly2306]

hi
october is the best time to move a gooseberry bush, don't know about raspberries. you need to leave as much earth as poss around the rootball and try not to disturb too much. can you get hold of a massive pot or container? if so transplant into that and then you can take it with you when you move without disturbing it in the summer months, once at your new place you can plant into ground in october
xxxmillyxxx

[angie loves veg]

Thanks Milly, that is very helpful. I have some large pots around from trying new pots in tubs this year. Should I give it a (hard or gentle?) prune at the same time (as taking it from the ground in oct) do you think?

[FB.]

From my experiences of transplanting, I would not prune it hard, in fact, I'd probably not prune it at all. The stress of root damage and loss of branches may be too much, or may delay establishment. Taking a few cutting may be wise, in case the original plant dies. At least you'll have some cuttings to plant.
I'd also remove all fruits in it's first season and ensure it is well watered all of next year, until it has regrown the damaged roots. Unless it grows strongly soon after transplanting, I would not prune it until after it has gone dormant for next winter (if required).

[daylily]

Angie, from my decades of ramaging around gardens I'd conclude it would need a special talent to kill either of these plants.

For a good performance you want to move them in full dormancy though, from when all greenery has gone till buds are still tight and not swelling, any time during that will do fine. It is much easier to use suckers of the raspberry - this year's new shoots - and can dig up the gooseberry as it is.

Keep them well fed and watered till next dormancy to plant out.

I don't know how much difference it would make if you light or hard pruned your goosegang or indeed didn't prune it at all, quite forgiving.

Good luck for the moving, that's a lot harder...

[rogesse]

Oh no, I must have that special talent - I killed 6 raspberry (Tulameen) this year

On the otherhand I liberated a gosseberry bush that had been ripped out by the council rotovating a spare lottie plot 2 years ago. It's been moved twice at the worst times and is going great guns