Raspberry help needed

[cookiewoos]

Hello, need some advice on what raspberries "do"! Would love to have a bed of them but think I heard somewhere that they spread like brambles. Having just dug up what feels like two tonne of brambles - I don't want to have to do the same with something I've chosen to plant. Can they be grown just in one bed?
Thanks

[Madasafish]

I have 4 rows of raspberries totalling around 80 feet in length and have grown them for around 20 years collecting around 50kg of fruit each year...

They don't spread like brambles. New suckers spring up in and outside each row every year. You either hoe off the ones outside the rows or dig them up and replant them in a row.
(That sentnece take s as long to type as to hoe one side of a row:-)

They need to be tied up hence the rows.. (about 5 feet in width.

[Birdie Wife]

Raspberries are great, if I only had room for one fruit I think that would be it! They are nowhere near as rampant as brambles, and much easier to train. I've got mine in rows about three foot apart, and each plant is about 18" apart. I put a fence post at the end of each row, and string wire across at heights of about 18" to tie the plants onto. They love a cool slightly moist spot, hence Scotland is perfect for them.

[leona]

iv got a small bed that was left from paving part of the drive so that keeps them in check. im growing a yellow variety there. my neighbours have traditional rasps in their garden which have suckered under the fence into our garden. suits me fine though! if a sucker comes up osmewhere i dont want it, i just pull it up.

[shirlthegirl43]

I have 4 canes growing at the edge of the patio and tied onto the fence. They are much nicer than brambles cos they stay were you put them!!!

[valmarg]

I think the difference here is between Summer and Autumn fruiting varieties.

The Summer fruiting varieties seem to grow in a fairly restricted area.

Last Spring I bought some Autumn fruiting plants (JoanJ). We planted them alongside the greenhouse. They grew quite well last year, and we had some wonderful fruits off them.

This year we have a BIG problem.

The plants are throwing up BIG suckers in the greenhouse boarder. They are crowding out the tomatoes in their pots.

I find it difficult, at the best of times, to throw things away, but I am going to have to sort out these suckers.

I want the tomatoes and the raspberries!!

What do I do???

valmarg

[yoanbob]

just plant the rasberry suckers somwhere else!
raspberrys are fine, just keep them in check with the hoe.

[Alison]

I grow autumn fruiting Autumn Bliss, no problems at all and I leave a few stems to give me some summer fruit also - picked a bowl earlier and they were lovely, would advise anybody to grow them.

[NattieG]

We got some Autumn Bliss a couple of months ago but I think we may have planted them wrong. There were about five canes - and the instructions said to just sock the root ball and then plant in a hole of some size, which is exactly what we did. But now I'm wondering if we should have seperated the canes and planted them out in a row - rather than just plonking them in a group as we bought them. Only one cane looks as if it's coming to anything - the rest just look like sticks in the mud!! Help!

[denise]

I have a row of 5 sticks in the mud too NattieG, so you are beating me. Mine are Ample Glen, but not living up to their name! I have been leaving them to gove a chance but even my eternal hope is running out. Maybe its time to replace them they have had since Feb to prove themselves.
BUT............ maybe I'll watch this thread before putting them on the compost heap :-}

[shirlthegirl43]

Nattie, you should have separated the sticks (unless they were one root ball) and planted in a row.

Both of you, don't worry too much about the sticks in the mud thing yet - mine were like that for most of last year with only a couple feeble green sprouts. This year though - wahey - they look superb and are full of rasps. Maybe that's just the way they are the first year?

[Two_Sheds]

My Rasps spread everywhere, the suckers! I am forever digging up and giving away canes (variety unknown, I inherited them). Apparently hoeing the suckers off only encourages the plant to produce more...anyone any ideas on this?

[denise]

Thank You Shirley, you have won them more time. Will leave them to see if they do anything next Spring.

[NattieG]

I thought as much, thanks Shirley. At the time, when I turned them out of the pot they came home in, I presumed it was just one root ball and plonked it in as it was Do you think it woul be worth digging them up and seperating them (they've been in about two months), or should I just leave them be and see what happens?

[Alison]

I'd dig them up if I were you, you won't get anything really this year anyway and all you're really doing is splitting them and giving them more room to grow and establish themselves for a good go next year.