Raspberries - This is our raspberry thread

[Mark]

Thought I would start a raspberry thread since I spent a good few hours today tending to my raspberry canes.

There are many different varieties of raspberries some which need cold weather to trigger fruiting and other types that will fruit in warmer climates (low chill varieties). Also, different varieties of raspberries fruit at different times of year.

I have a variety called Heritage and it fruits late spring and into summer. My raspberry patch used to be in a square garden bed with a flimsy wire trellis to keep the canes in position but I found after a few seasons it just got out of control and difficult to manage.

Since then, I moved the canes to a more sturdy trellis in a narrow rectangular row and I'm finding this to be a much better setup.

What I did today was to start getting the dormant canes ready for the coming spring - I have lots more work to do but essentially it's just a matter of tidying the canes up and getting rid of the winter weeds. I like to weave the canes through the trellis where possible and tie those that can't be weaved or platted with others. It's also a good idea to thin some out if it's too overgrown in places.

Most varieties have thorns so wearing gloves helps make the job more pleasant

The image below shows my "prickly patch" raspberries, dragon fruit, and pineapples.​

Raspberries fruit pretty well when established usually in the second season on last years developed canes.

The bowls of raspberries below were gathered at a mates place and are not mine so I can't claim this awesome harvest

Here's my raspberry mess before I started cleaning it up today. This coming spring will be only the second season since I moved them so I am hoping for a good first crop around December.

More to follow over...

 

[Steve]

My grandfather used to have awesome raspberries when I was a kid.
I remember his used to be on 2 narrow parallel rows which made it easier to move between and collect the goods!
But you are right they are a prickly little sod but well worth the off prick IMHO.

Definitely on my list....

 

[Mark]

Getting there Still lots of work to do - I've got scratches everywhere from these prickly buggers!

 

[Mark]

Here's the same raspberry canes a few months later with leaves and there's hundreds of raspberries forming with some already ripening. The overhead tunnel netting helps deter birds (even though it's open on the sides).

We should be picking raspberries right through from now until Xmas

 

[Steve]

Nice setup Mark.
Nice photo too.

 

[Mark]

Nice setup Mark.
Nice photo too.

Thanks Steve - yeah I'm really happy with the way it has worked.

 

[steve h]

love it when is the best time to plant

 

[Mark]

love it when is the best time to plant

Cheers mate, Growth starts in early spring so in our area planting late August or early September is best; however, potted raspberries can be planted at any time really.

Raspberries grow from cuttings really easily. A few years back I did some pruning of old growth and threw them on the lawn then I lazily ran over the pile in my lawn mower and mulched the off-cuts into the grass. A few months later, I had dozens of tiny raspberry plants popping up through the lawn around that area! I kept mowing over most until they perished but I did pull out about 12 and potted them up for transplanting. If you do some pruning in late winter and you need some more plants just cut the canes in about 8 inch pieces and bung them in a good potting mix with a regular water they should strike quite easily.

Also, raspberry plants produce suckers (and that's one reason I try to keep my plants contained in a garden bed) these suckers can be removed and used to make new plants or left grow as new canes for the next season - they probably will not fruit in the first season but will definitely fruit the next year.

If you need to buy some to start off then don't go overboard and just buy one or two plants then propagate them yourself over time because they grow really fast.

 

[McCaffrey]

What position do raspberries like - N/S? E/W? What about wind protection? Sun protection? I made a poor attempt years ago but didn’t see it through (they died). I’d like to improve on that if anyone can guide me, please?I’m in Perth.
I would prefer to grow them in large pots for space reasons.

 

[McCaffrey]

I love all the work you do, Mark. The website, the videos, your garden, your humour….
I only found you about two years ago, and my garden has greatly improved as a result of what I’ve learnt from you.
Thank you.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Love seeing an old thread like this spring to life again! Just about 10 years, wowza.

Sadly I don't know what position they like. I do vaguely remember them needing a more acidic kind of soil.

 

[Grandmother Goose]

Thread necromancy! Good stuff.

I've been reading up about raspberries and all the other cane-berries, and everything I've gathered suggests that they do best in full sun, but they do just fine in part shade, and can even grow somewhat in almost full shade, the only difference being that they will grow and fruit better the more sunlight they get. There is a limit however, an extremely hot Aussie summer heatwave could cook the raspberries that are growing, so when the temps get a bit too much then a bit of light shade cloth can help solve that problem. As for which way they face, that all depends on your yard and what position will give them adequate sunlight.

As for wind, most plants can benefit from a bit of protection from strong winds. That being said, there are people that use raspberry and blackberry bramble patches as wind breaks, so...???

What I want to know, and can't find a solid answer to, is the question of how deep can the runners run? I'd like to grow a patch of various cane berries eventually, but I don't know whether I can get away with keeping them under control in a 40cm raised bed, or should I play it safe and just keep them in large pots?

 

[Lunai]

Thread necromancy! Good stuff.

I've been reading up about raspberries and all the other cane-berries, and everything I've gathered suggests that they do best in full sun, but they do just fine in part shade, and can even grow somewhat in almost full shade, the only difference being that they will grow and fruit better the more sunlight they get. There is a limit however, an extremely hot Aussie summer heatwave could cook the raspberries that are growing, so when the temps get a bit too much then a bit of light shade cloth can help solve that problem. As for which way they face, that all depends on your yard and what position will give them adequate sunlight.

As for wind, most plants can benefit from a bit of protection from strong winds. That being said, there are people that use raspberry and blackberry bramble patches as wind breaks, so...???

What I want to know, and can't find a solid answer to, is the question of how deep can the runners run? I'd like to grow a patch of various cane berries eventually, but I don't know whether I can get away with keeping them under control in a 40cm raised bed, or should I play it safe and just keep them in large pots?

Thread necromancy love that

They definetly can handle a lot of wind. Our neighbour's are standing right at the low fence where every windgust blows through and they are doing very well. They wonderfully adabt to new habitats, it can take a while for them to really start off tho.

40cm should be save. When I dug some runners from said neighbor up for myself they never went deeper that 15cm and if you ceep track on them and thin them out every year you shouldn't run into any problems

 

[Em Taylor]

Hi, I live in the southern rangelands of Western Australia...our summers are very hot and dry but I have a thriving fruit orchard and veggie patch as we are fortunate to have plenty of good quality water. I am wondering if anyone here has successfully grown raspberries in a hot dry climate. Providing shade is no problem but I can't protect them fully from the hot, dry easterly wind. I am growing blueberries in pots with some success. Thoughts on some low chill varieties I could perhaps try? Thank you

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Welcome to the forum @Em Taylor !
I haven't tried growing them myself, but perhaps another member could enlighten you more.

 

[Grandmother Goose]

Hi, I live in the southern rangelands of Western Australia...our summers are very hot and dry but I have a thriving fruit orchard and veggie patch as we are fortunate to have plenty of good quality water. I am wondering if anyone here has successfully grown raspberries in a hot dry climate. Providing shade is no problem but I can't protect them fully from the hot, dry easterly wind. I am growing blueberries in pots with some success. Thoughts on some low chill varieties I could perhaps try? Thank you

I'll be able to answer that in about 2 years time, but if you decide to some experimental raspberry growing and get results before I do, I'd love to hear how it turned out.

 

[Em Taylor]

Welcome to the forum @Em Taylor !
I haven't tried growing them myself, but perhaps another member could enlighten you more.

Thanks Mandy....I think I'm dreaming really! And frozen raspberries aren't so bad

 

[Em Taylor]

I'll be able to answer that in about 2 years time, but if you decide to some experimental raspberry growing and get results before I do, I'd love to hear how it turned out.

@Grandmother Goose well your climate is pretty close to mine, although your winters are probably a bit colder, so I'm interested to see how you go!

 

[Grandmother Goose]

Thanks Mandy....I think I'm dreaming really! And frozen raspberries aren't so bad

If you want answers sooner than you might find here, maybe search around the internet/youtube for people that are growing cane berries of any kind (raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, etc) in places with similar climate conditions, look up world climate maps like this one (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Africa#/media/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Africa_present.svg) for other parts of the world that are similar to your area. If you have plenty of water available, raspberries should - in theory - do just fine with a bit of light shade in the hottest days of summer. From everything I've read about cane berries, wind doesn't bother them, and although you're in an area that gets hot in summer, the winters usually get cold enough for just long enough that you might not even need to look for low chill varieties to get fruit. I'm in Broken Hill far west NSW, similar climate to where you are just with less water, and I experimented with growing a sugar plum - which needs a lot of chill hours to set fruit, and all the literature says it won't grow here, and yet it did and it gave me fruit this year despite last winter being worryingly warmer than normal and only giving us one morning with a very brief light frost. I'll be planting a heap of different cane berries in either 2024 or 25 all going according to plan (which it never does, but hope never dies around here!) Don't be afraid to experiment. My grandmother was always told she'd never be able to grow a heap of different stuff here, but she defied all the advice and tried everything she wanted to try anyway, and proved that just about anything can grow here given enough water. If she can do that where I am, I can do it too, and you can do it where you are.