Raspberry Support

[Gardener Guy]

I have three Heritage bushes in my 6 by 8 raised garden bed. They are now in a line, but it looks more like 1 large, long shrub, instead of three. I hacked it down to about 18 inches this spring. They have grown to about three feet already. I was thinking of putting in four metal stakes, and "sandwiching" the bushes between wire, perhaps two wires at three and again at four or five feet. Is that a good idea? I can try something new next year, but I don't want to thin them out this year or do anything drastic, since this is the second year and we would like the two batches of fruit. Any help or advice?

[soil]

i hope you didnt cut out all of the canes. because they fruit on 2nd year growth. if you cut it all down, theres a chance you will have to wait until next year for berries.

This might help you some
http://ohioline.osu.edu/b782/b782_11.html

[JONA878]

Heritage are Primary cane rasps so they fruit on one year old canes.
You can allow the canes to be a little denser than the ordinary rasp canes as they fruit slower and over a much longer period.
Supported between two wires is ideal as you are thinking of doing. A gap of a couple of feet between the two posts should allow plenty of room for the cropping cane to grow, but it does pay every few feet to put a cross string or wire between the two main wire supports.This will stop the canes from concertinaring up in high winds.
You can sandwich the canes between much closer wires if you wish but this will make it more difficult next year as you will have to either remove the wires or thread the plant through as it grows....but it will look a lot neater.

[applestar]

Right. Heritage is an Everbearer and fruits in summer as well, but most instructions say to prune as Fall bearer. So OP's safe on that account.

[elementfiftyfour]

I use tomato cages to keep mine up but your idea sounds like it will work. I'd probably use twine instead of wire though and you can probably tie them to the wire where you want them to stay.

[hendi_alex]

Why do they need support? Will the berries pull down to the ground and rot?

[Gardener Guy]

Thanks everyone! I want to support them for a couple of reasons:
They did get heavy with fruit last fall, especially, and sagged to the ground.
Also, I want them to look neater and I need to be able to get to them easier.

It sounds like my idea will work. I think I will "thin" them in the Spring next year, when I cut them back. Since I posted a couple of days ago, flower buds have appeared and I have pulled out the plants that surrounded the main clump, so they already are neater looking. From what I experienced last year, the early summer fruiting is minimal, but the fall fruiting is very heavy. The berries lasted on the canes well into November, which does mean that they froze on the canes in some cases. What I could salvage at that point were very sweet berries because of the freezing.

[hendi_alex]

The main reason I asked, is that my vines are only in their second year, and were moved to new beds at that. So far my canes have been manageable. Guess I may have to construct some kind of support, maybe by the end of this season or the beginning of next. My plants are in self contained 3 x 3 boxes which are placed on a weed barrier. Perhaps that will keep the plants growing in a more orderly way. So far they are looking great, with moderate sized canes which are loaded with fruit which just started ripening this week.

[applestar]

Gardenerguy, you don't have to contend with birds?
My blueberries and blackberries, I have to net or the catbirds and robins will steal all the just-before-peak berries.

They don't seem to notice my Kiwi Gold raspberries as much.

But I already have green blueberries on the shrubs and I'm late constructing a cage for them.

[Gardener Guy]

The birds let the raspberries alone last year, but I am not sure how this year will go. We have a net over our strawberries. Those darn birds take a slice out of a berry and move on to another berry. It's always the nicest, biggest berries too.