Raspberry still not growing?

[liis]

Hello all,
I've got a little problem with my raspberrys. I planted the bareroot canes of Glen prosen in february. They're summer fruiting ones if i remember correctly. They were about 40 cms high when i bought them and i haven't pruned them at all (i wasn't supposed to if i'm correct). The weather has been lovely and all but they still look like dried out old sticks. Have i been unlucky and they're dead or am i just being impatient?

[rustylady]

Where did you get them from Liis? I would have expected to see some sign of leaf buds at least by now. I'm in East Anglia and my raspberries are leafing up - you're a lot further south and presumably warmer.

[boundtothesoil]

Have i been unlucky and they're dead or am i just being impatient?

I'd wait a few weeks before writing these off as dead. I've been in the same situation several times. There seem to be three outcomes when planting new summer fruiting canes:-
1) Spring arrives and the buds on the cane burst forth and produce new shoots.
2) Nothing grows from the cane itself (it looks and probably is dead), but later in spring, or even in the summer, a new shoot or two emerges from the root system and grows healthily (this will provide fruit the following year).
3) Nothing happens all year. The cane is dead and when you dig it up, the root system is rotting and/or riddled with insect/pest damage.

I've made the mistake of trying to grow raspberries continuously on the same patch of land for 20 years. Pests and diseases build up in the soil, and at least half of the new canes I plant every year to fill in the gaps fall into category (3) for me.

[lettucegrow!]

Was wondering the same thing myself. Have done just the same, mine were from p-land so wasn't expecting much. But they were showing signs of growth. Now , just sticks in the ground . One more week, then they're out , I need the space!!

[liis]

Thanks for the answers all. Will give them another couple of months and then they're up. Need the space as well. And i got them from quite a big gardening centre. Fair enough tough it did say NOT GURANTEED on the label.

[veggiechicken]

I'd vote for Option 2 as the most likely - it'll shoot from the base when the time is right.
I planted a dozen autumn fruiting raspberries earlier this year - they look like sticks too - but a few of them have new shoots coming up alongside them.
Although I grow lots of raspberries most of them are running wild and I don't know which are summer or autumn fruiting - so I treat them all the same way. If the stems are green now they will fruit this year, if they're brown they won't but will shoot from the base and those new shoots will fruit later in the year. Be patient

[marchogaeth]

Do you think your soil is warm where they are or could it be behind the rest of your garden? Is it wet enough? My garden got really dry in the cold weather and look where I am!

Did you plant enough to risk having a careful look at one? If so I would be tempted but be aware of option two above, it's very easy to knock the new shoots off.

[cptncrackoff]

Aha! A very similar situation to my Raspberries...

I planted them last November, not long after being planted they started to bud, then small leaves.
Then winter came and they died back.
March they started to bud again, got quite leafy, then winter came back and killed them.
now they just look dead, the tops wer going brittle, they did look poorly, I have now trimmed them down to around 15cms, waiting for new growth....hopefully!?

[kerryp]

I got a bundle of 9 canes from Thompson & Morgan & only a few of them have started to show signs of growing so if the others don't sprout I'll be contacting them!

[Irish-Veg]

I bought 5 rasberry canes back in April and when I bought them they were just starting to put on new growth, but sine planting them out, they were just starting to flower and then we had 4 nights of continous gales and it battered them about even though they were in a fairly sheltered spot, they look ragged now I hope the few fine days forecast in the next few days perks them up, would giving them some feeding help them? (and btw they were planted into a mix of wellrotted chicken manure/straw/soil, i hope i didnt kill them :s

but on the upside my goosberries/blackcurrants are setting fruit now

[redser]

I wouldn't think you need to feed them if you put chicken manure in only a few weeks ago. Are they autumn or Summer plants? They havn't had long to get going so just be patient with them. Dont let them fruit this year so they can concentrate on root development.

[Keymel64]

I agree with redser, give them time, mine have flower buds coming but I have no idea on the veriety as they were left from the previous allotment owner.

[WillyNelson]

I'm in the same boat. Two lots of 5 canes from a local GC. Planted in a well prepped bed in November and watered in well. Now they're just dead twigs. I had a look at the bottom of one a couple of weeks ago and there's no new growth at all.

I'm very disappointed for 2 reasons. I bought the canes with birthday vouchers from my parents and my young daughter (a self confessed raspberry monster) was terribly excited at the prospect or MORE raspberries, and some sepcially chosen ones at that.

I need to hope I kept the receipt and then I'll be taking them back

[FB.]

I've had very variable past results with raspberry viability, mostly depending on the supplier.

As usual; Keepers nursery in Kent seem to be by far the best: all canes (and all fruit trees of any kind) that I've had from Keepers were good strong specimens which all survived and all grew/established well - often with a good crop even in the first season.

Other suppliers have been very hit-and-miss. Some suppliers have shockingly high rates of non-viable plants, or sickly plants which eventually die from a latent disease brought with them from the nursery.

[Beanz]

I planted my 11 raspberry canes on 5 March (bought from local GC). About 5 or 6 have shoots or breaking buds but I am a little concerned about the rest!