Planting raspberry canes

[cabbagepatchkid]

Hello!

I've ordered 6 Joan J raspberry canes for the new lottie ( ), which have arrived today. Each of them is a single cane, approx 40cm long. Being an autumn variety, should I prune them down to the ground in winter like I would the raspberries that are already in the ground, or do I leave them alone?

[Bigmallly]

If they are only 40cm now, I would leave them.

[It never rains..it pours]

In my 1 year experience c/w good advice from here. Would say depends on risk of them getting knocked over, if thats low then wouldnt cut them. One thing to consider is soil type and location, if your on free draining/low rainfall then fine but if on clay/high rainfall, would suggest planting on ridges or raised bed as Joan J is susceptible, like most , to root rot in a wet soil

[Greenleaves]

I agree with BM, year one will result in new shoots on the canes, year two new canes will appear, I think BM double crops by only cutting some right down in Jan/Feb

[BUFFS]

I planted my Joan j quite deep but left the stems alone and the first year side growths grew from these stems and gave a reasonable crop, after that it was a case of trim all fruited stems to the ground and tie in the unfruited stems, (this is Scotland and sometimes summer forgets us and doesn't visit), these stems fruit early and just as they finish the trimmed stems appear and fruit, so cropping from June /july to November, luckily for us they don't need a lot of sun, they grow slower and this is what really makes Scottish rasps so beautifully tasty. I would put a 2ft deep barrier all round their plot as they are great escape artists..

[cabbagepatchkid]

Fab, thanks very much! Will leave them alone then. Will try ridge planting - soil drains pretty well, but we get A LOT of rain!

[BUFFS]

Fab, thanks very much! Will leave them alone then. Will try ridge planting

We have the odd drop of rain here, it's delivered by lorry there is so much, whereabouts are you?

[cabbagepatchkid]

Dorset coast. Used to live in London and it rains much more down here, but not as much as where I lived in Australia (but when it rained, it RAINED), so what exactly counts as a lot of rain?

[BUFFS]

Dorset coast. Used to live in London and it rains much more down here, but not as much as where I lived in Australia (but when it rained, it RAINED), so what exactly counts as a lot of rain?

think of your worst wet autumn day down there, that is summer to us, the rain gets warmer, sometimes..

[Kirk]

As they should send up new shoots from the root ball underthe surface not growth from the present stem then pruning or not should be irrevevant. The stem is most likely useful for knowing where they are and so to avoid stepping on them.

[It never rains..it pours]

Cabbagepatchkid, below is met office history link, need to click "avarage maps", then in climate variable "rainfall" and then "annual" in seasons below. You get more than london on that but might have to recalibrate lot of rain when compared to us in the north. At least here scores good for sunshine hours
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/

[bikermike]

the Island has it's own microclimate - for two weeks in May/June it's a week of bright sun followed by heavy rain, and for two weeks in Aug/Sept it's a week of "promising" followed by a week of "blowin a bit yessir". And don't get me started on the omnidirectional winds of Jurby (guess why I come to the island...?)

anyway, back on topic - have I missed the raspberry cane-buying season?

[SelkirkAlex]

Cabbagepatchkid, below is met office history link, need to click "avarage maps", then in climate variable "rainfall" and then "annual" in seasons below. You get more than london on that but might have to recalibrate lot of rain when compared to us in the north. At least here scores good for sunshine hours
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/

thanks for posting that link, I knew the weather here was bad but it is really enlightening to see just how bad, that site is great

[Thelma Sanders]

the Island has it's own microclimate

anyway, back on topic - have I missed the raspberry cane-buying season?

Which Island?
You can buy and plant raspberries at any time while they are dormant.

[bikermike]

there are many islands, but only one Island (the Isle of Man). It has Very Special Kinds of Weather (and usually several of them at once)... (as you can guess from the username, I tend to go over for the racing)

The question about raspberry canes was more "are they likely to have them in the shops"?

I had been assuming that Jan/Feb was the time to do plant them (and that I'd buy them then), but having been nearly caught out on potatoes this year, I am not assuming the season for buying them is necessarily the same season as planting them...