raspberries - put in pots or straight in the ground?

[baby_blue]

hi everyone,

i recieved 6 raspberry canes today in the post, bare rooted. there are 3 different varieties, autumn bliss, glen moy, glen ample. i mentioned to a lottie neighbour that i had some on order, he said i should grow them on in pots first rather than straight in the ground.

any advice would be great, is planting them in pots first the best way? any particular type of soil? should i soak the roots first, i'm sure i read this somewhere! if so how long for?!

sorry about all the questions, but i am a bit clueless reallly!

thankyou!

[rustylady]

Do you have a place prepared for them on the allotment? If so I would soak the roots overnight and then get them planted.

[baby_blue]

i have an area where i will be putting all the fruit bushes. the grounds dug over, its clay soil. do i need to add anything to the soil?

i've had a look at all the canes and they all have shoots just starting to grow. so thats a good sign!

[sugar]

Raspberries don't like heavy and wet soil. It is probably wise to make a raised were you're planning them

[zazen999]

I beg to differ - my rasps are in thick thick clay and I have no trouble with them whatsoever. Dig hole, get them in, water and mulch and leave them to it. I don't even tie mine in, they are left to their own devices and I get sick to death of rasps by the end of the season.

[taff]

I was going to say the same thing, stick them in and leave them to it. Did the same with the ones I bought last year, 5 of autumn, 5 of summer. Only trouble is now, this year I have about 20 of each appearing, so god knows which is which....

[Aberdeenplotter]

I agree, stick them in the ground and let them get on with it. It is correct that raspberries do not like to have their feet in wet ground and Glen Ample is particularly prone to problems with root rot. Just because you have clay ground though does not automatically mean the ground is wet. It just has the potential to hold moisture and is not free draining.