If I bought a raspberry bush with several canes in it, should I have seperated the canes out or planted it just as it was in the pot when I bought it?
I dug the hole in the ground as the instructions said, but all the canes are together. I got a few berries this first year, and they are mostly dieing off now, what do I do next?
thanks!
My raspberries produce fruit on the previous years growth, and the canes that produced in the current year (those that you got your berries on this year) are no longer viable and should be removed. If you had some new shoots come up after you planted ityou may get some berries next year but it really takes a few years to get a raspberry patch going and get them sending out shoots to multiply your plants. Don't worry if it is looking dismal, it will send out shoots next spring.
I started with a few wild runners that were under some trees in my yard, moved them into a row beside the garden and by year 3, I was picking a quart or 2 of berries over the season - still not enough to do much with, that took about 5 years to get enough plants to produce enough at one time...now I have too many and by pruning and tending them I get great big berries.
If this plant was an everbearing variety, I have no experience with the growth patterns of those, hopefully someone else will have some advice for you.
J
I started with a few wild runners that were under some trees in my yard, moved them into a row beside the garden and by year 3, I was picking a quart or 2 of berries over the season - still not enough to do much with, that took about 5 years to get enough plants to produce enough at one time...now I have too many and by pruning and tending them I get great big berries.
If this plant was an everbearing variety, I have no experience with the growth patterns of those, hopefully someone else will have some advice for you.
J
I usually remove the dead canes in the spring, some will survive the winter and bear again the next year.
I pick out a good new cane in the spring, not too green, fairly straight and cut it in ten inch pieces. Pot them in peat and keep them moist until they root, for next years crop. Some will take some won't, I imagine a rooting hormone would help (I've never tried it myself), I use the shotgun approach.
I pick the cane from a plant that is a good producer and has a good flavor.
You can also pull a cane down to the ground, scrape one side for an inch with a knife, dig a small hole, place a brick on top and let the cane grow normally. A quick way to spread your patch and make sure you aren't growing a lesser variety. Berry plants grown from seeds (fruit that falls to the ground) are usually inferior to the parent, some sort of cloning is preferable.
Your plant will throw out root runners, but this method is often slower than helping the process along some.
I have three varieties growing in a 20 foot row I tie to wires suspended between posts. Early, middle and late producers.
I pick out a good new cane in the spring, not too green, fairly straight and cut it in ten inch pieces. Pot them in peat and keep them moist until they root, for next years crop. Some will take some won't, I imagine a rooting hormone would help (I've never tried it myself), I use the shotgun approach.
I pick the cane from a plant that is a good producer and has a good flavor.
You can also pull a cane down to the ground, scrape one side for an inch with a knife, dig a small hole, place a brick on top and let the cane grow normally. A quick way to spread your patch and make sure you aren't growing a lesser variety. Berry plants grown from seeds (fruit that falls to the ground) are usually inferior to the parent, some sort of cloning is preferable.
Your plant will throw out root runners, but this method is often slower than helping the process along some.
I have three varieties growing in a 20 foot row I tie to wires suspended between posts. Early, middle and late producers.