Wilko raspberry canes, worth it?

[tumbling tom]

I have read so many different opinions of these online. Some failures some success.

I was looking at them today as I need to buy a few and they just looked like dried twigs.

Whats peoples experience with them. Do they come back to life?

[Lamboluke]

I bought 3 long canes from aldi for 4 quid and so far 3 weeks later no life. They look as you say like dried twigs But I'm hoping I'll get some success!

[rustylady]

You need to look for plants with green buds. If they are totally dry and brown don't buy them

[tumbling tom]

Thing is I saw them in Homebase I think as well. These were potted and watered but they looked like twigs too.

I did buy some a couple of years back and I do recall them being "int the green" so to speak

[Coopers]

Oh I hope they work. I planted 3 today. All 3 had greens shoots so my fingers are firmly crossed.

The ones I got were a pound each so worth a gamble.

[The Griff]

I bought a kiwi from wilko's a few weeks ago when they had just got all of the bare root stock in, it has just started to bud in my greenhouse and is doing really well. I think the main problem with the likes of wilko's and the pound shop bare root stuff is the fact it's not looked after properly and just sits on the shelves in a hot temperature under all of the strip lights day in day out until the stock has been sold, I know that the bare root stuff including the rasperries in wilko's has been there since January so I personally wouldn't buy any of them now, that said some of the stock is starting to grow leaves spouting out of the top of the box's so I would presume some of the stock will still be ok.
In future I would try and get these things as soon as the stock comes in to improve your chances of it being good quality.
I bought 12 polka raspberry canes last year from blackmoor and only 8 of them grew in the summer so I suppose it can be pot luck wherever you get them from.

[sparrow100]

Griff, did you let Blackmoor know? I've only ever had fantastic service from them and anything that hasn't grown (one of my gooseberries) has been replaced with no quibbles.

[Kristen]

Bare root nurseries charge little more than a £pound a cane - Ashridge Trees is £1.35 each if you buy 5, cheaper if you buy more. They occasionally have free delivery weekends ... so my advice would be that if the discount stores are not much cheaper than that you buy from a bare root specialist. The plants will have been freshly lifted short before being sent to you, rather than potentially hanging around drying out in a plastic bag in the store. Quite possibly more choice of varieties too froma specialist grower ...

e.g.

Raspberry Canes For Sale | Buy Bareroot Raspberry Plants Online

[The Griff]

Sparrow100,
I have bought quite a lot of things from blackmoor and also had really good service, although a couple of problems that have been rectified. I bought a Loch Ness blackberry that should of been a 70cm plant and it was only a 5cm rootball on arrival, they refunded me for the lot and let me keep it, I also bought 10 honeyoe strawberries that never grew a couple of years ago and they replaced them.
With the raspberries it was October when I planted them and I had also bought some yellow coloured bare root rasps that winter from one of the local garden centres, as the fall gold and polka were both autumn varieties I put in the same bed, it was not until the summer they all started to grow(later than most other autumn rasp, but I put this down to them finding there roots)and it was august when I could work out which ones were the polka and which were the fall gold, by this time I felt it was too late to complain and I had already had a free Loch Ness blackberry off them anyway.
I have nothing but praise for there service though, everyone makes mistakes but it's how companies deal with them that counts and blackmoor customer service is brilliant.

[simon12]

I bought 4 wilko canes 2 years ago only 1 grew which now does very well and puts up loads of suckers but the other 3 I suspect were dead long before I got them.

[libbyloulou]

If your not sure if theyr'e dead or not, scratch them near bottom of the stem with a thumb nail.

[Lamboluke]

What should I be looking for when doing that? Green I take it?

[Kristen]

Yes, green layer just below the surface skin/bark.

[Lamboluke]

For some reason the photos are on their side, sorry about that. I've scratched down the top layer which was brown and quite flakey. Appears nice and green so I'm guessing there is hope.

I've also taken a photo of the bud area. Again it's brown but given that the stem is green underneath should the buds burst into life?

[libbyloulou]

That plant will be alive at least up to the next bud,you may scratch above the next bud and it could be dead
(or alive) you could do that all way up if you wanted.If you find it's dead after x amount of buds,trim the plant off just above the last live bud.