Raspberries... Restricting them!

[Hedgerow74]

I need to move my autumn fruiting raspberries from their current position and I'd really like to prevent them popping up all over the place once they're in their new position.

Has anyone tried and succeeded?!

How deep would I need to go and what sort of thing would make a suitable barrier?

I've had a look at the root barriers that are sold for stopping bamboo spreading and wondering if something like that would work, seems quite expensive but if it works I think I'd swallow it and got for it!

[Guest]

Plant them in pots then sink the pots into the bed leaving the top of the pot just above soil level. It is what I do with mint and comfrey.

[marchogaeth]

The roots are quite shallow so I just hack down through the soil close to the parent and yank the rogue one out. I don't know how they respond to root restriction like pots but that sounds an idea depending on how many you have.

[Hedgerow74]

The roots are quite shallow so I just hack down through the soil close to the parent and yank the rogue one out. I don't know how they respond to root restriction like pots but that sounds an idea depending on how many you have.

I've been trying to do that with them in their current location but I foolishly put them in a bed which has a path on either side consisting of weed suppressant with slabs on top! It means I've been having to lift the slabs and the weed suppressant to do the digging and it's just proving a bit too much! They're popping up all over the place including in my asparagus bed so I need to move them.

In their new position it will be easier to dig on one side of them but I've got a blow away poly quite near by with a water tank in between them and the poly so it will be hard to dig near the parent plants.

I'd rather just try and restrict the root growth if possible to cut down on the digging required to get rid of the runners!

I'd be a little concerned that pots might restrict the growth a bit too much but I could look into the cost of some bigger pots to see if that would work.

[Hedgerow74]

Update: I've had a little look on RHS website and they recommend one plant per 15" / 38cm pot.

I've bought some pots of that sort of size before but I've had problems with them getting brittle and cracking.

Wondering if this is most likely due to temperature or UV exposure.

If it is likely to be temperature related I'd be concerned about them just cracking in the soil and the roots merrily coming through the cracks!

[libbyloulou]

When i was a kid, i remember my dad using slates knocked in the soil to stop mint spreading,yet leaving it looking natural with the slate just under the soil.

[Olorin2001]

Standard black buckets for a pound, PP so relatively UV stable, drill holes and sink in the ground, works for me with 36 plants.

[FB.]

When i was a kid, i remember my dad using slates knocked in the soil to stop mint spreading,yet leaving it looking natural with the slate just under the soil.

I've used small slabs to prevent roots spreading, similar to the way slabs are used to line a fig pit. The slab can be sunk deep enough to hide it completely, or an inch left protruding to make an edeging effect.
The Mrs uses pots sunken into the soil to restrict mint. I once used a plastic-sack-lined pit for blueberries to prevent leaching so as to keep the soil acidic and help retain water.

But with rogue raspberries I just dig them up and replant them somewhere useful or give them away. The roots are mostly shallow and not too difficult to remove. Remember to trace the rogue root back to its mother plant or it might grow back again.

[Hedgerow74]

Thanks everyone!

On one long side of the bed there is a grass path which shouldn't be a problem as we mow quite regularly. On the opposite long side there will be another bed which I can access and dig easily but on another side there's an IBC full of water and my poly which means I wouldn't be able to trace them back to the parent plant from that direction which is why I want to try and prevent the problem occurring.

I think I'll try the builders buckets first as that's something I can get hold of quite easily and cheaply.

[FB.]

I think I'll try the builders buckets first as that's something I can get hold of quite easily and cheaply.

The buckets will need a small amount of drainage otherwise the raspberry roots will rot due suffocating from sitting in a bucket of saturated mud for several days after each bout of heavy rain.

[Hedgerow74]

The buckets will need a small amount of drainage otherwise the raspberry roots will rot due suffocating from sitting in a bucket of saturated mud for several days after each bout of heavy rain.

Thanks FB, as suggested previously I'll drill some holes in the bottom of them for drainage so they don't end up with soggy roots!

[unclefudgly]

Libbylou, I did the very same thing the other day, but using synthetic roof slates, which seem to be quite solid when you bash them into the ground. My raspberries are next to my strawberries so don't want to be digging through those every year.

[chrisdb]

I've had raspberries for ages and I always just pull up the new shoots while they're still green, and/or lawnmower them if they're in the lawn. The work to contain them seems pretty minimal, it's a once every month or two activity.

I try to avoid pots, even open bottomed ones sunk into the ground, as a permanent solution since most of the time the plants are obviously less happy and do less well than the same plants in open ground.

[Penellype]

Rasberries naturally creep to make new canes and if you restrict them to a pot or bucket they will quickly become crowded. If you are going to do this you will need to keep thinning them out regularly. I had raspberries (Autumn Bliss and All Gold) in 25l pots and after a couple of years they didn't fruit at all. I split the All Gold up into smaller pieces and planted it in a raised bed last year and it ws fine. Maybe you could make a raised bed for them rather than restrict them with pots?

[Kristen]

That point worried me about the in-pots method, but I'd not tried it so I kept my gob shut ... until now