Hi there! So to introduce myself; I am a relatively new gardener, still learning everything. I have had successful crops of various things in the past, but never grown fruit before besides strawberries. Well this year I am changing that, growing numerous fruits because I love fruit! Anyway, I have a Heritage Raspberry 1 yr. plant that I planted about 3 weeks ago. I am growing it in a pretty big container because I live in a very suburban area with limited space and can't have these humungous fruit plants taking up all of my space! The plant is healthy and growing well. It is such a nice day that I decided to sit outside and read my fruit gardening books. I read that raspberry roots should only be planted 3 inches down!

I planted mine quite a bit further down. So then i decided to dig up the roots carefully and get it re-situated. I even found a bud that was under the dirt so I know it's way far down. I kept going and I noticed this little white verticle thing sticking out of the ground. It looks just like a bean sprout. The question I ultimately have is is this a root, or a shoot? I've heard the word "shoot" thrown around frequently in books and these forums but am still not 100% sure what it is. I will attach some pictures and let you guys decide what it is, and what I should do about it, and if it's worth digging up the plant to get re-situated. If you need better/more pics I will take them, just let me know. So sorry about the long post! Thanks so much for your help!
Picture 1 -
Picture 2 -
Picture of plant to "thing"; about 2 inches away -
