Raspberry canes.... help?

[mew]

Hi everyone

I have a raspberry plant which Ive had for about 3 years now but last year it got attacked by the vine weevil (at and there was hundreds of larvae in the soil. Thankfully it was contained to its own container. I decided to try and save it and lifted it from the soil so all that was left was the roots.

I replanted it and it survived, albeit I only have only new cane as a result, albeit a bit of a spindly cane! I have noticed in the bed where I replanted it last year there are new shoots / plants coming up along side the original cane but not as part of the same plant. I presume from runners / roots maybe (don’t really know about raspberry canes, apart from they taste tummy – the fruit not the canes that is) and I just wanted to know if I can sever and plant the new shoots elsewhere as they’re popping up in an awkward spot and I could do with moving them if at all possible but don’t want to disturb them if its going to damage them.

Any help on this would be appreciated.

Thanks as always

MEW x

[theabsinthefairy]

I dug up and moved my raspberry canes last autumn and they are sprouting lovely and green right now.
But I am not sure about moving them in spring as they are greening up? Can you leave them and move them later in the year so that their roots have a chance to develop fully and are a bit hardier?

[Andy Hamilton]

My canes just pop up all over the plot, in fact they are almost a weed.

I put some in a couple of years ago and they were just pretty much a cane cut down to about 5 inches with a few roots, fruiting fine now. So yep just replant them anywhere and they should do ok. Although, they can spread like wildfire in finely dug soil so be careful with that.

[Millymollymandy]

Raspberries are thugs and you can be real mean back to them! Hoe off or just pull off any new growth that comes up in the wrong place. This is just how they grow - they have an amazing root system and from every bit of root you will get shoots popping up everywhere!

However what you need to know is that if they are summer fruiting raspberries they won't fruit (well technically they won't!) on this year's canes, so don't cut those canes down - as those are the ones that will bear fruit NEXT year.

If you've bought autumn fruiting ones then just cut all the previous year's growth down to ground level in late winter and the new growth will produce this year's fruit.

[Peggy Sue]

My raspberries are definite thugs too. The shoots that come up everywhere I pull out, stick in a pot with a bit of soil and give to my friends.

They normally produce a few berries same year regardless of the time of year I do this and in one case the 3 shoots I gave to my step dad just took over in 2 years and he had to dig them up to get his garden back under control!

The dog digs up my transplants from time to time to bury a bone, but they live OK so I wouldn't get too worried

[mew]

Thanks for the info guys, really useful.

I will probably leave them where the are this year as I managed to move a couple of plant giving them room but next year I'll probably move them.

When is the best time to shift em? I believe they are an autumn fruiting raspberry

Thanks x

[jumping bean]

I've just planted my raspberry bush in a pot, I think I'll leave it there, Do you think it'll be ok?

[Millymollymandy]

I would guess that the best time to move raspberries would be during winter during the dormant period.

I don't think that long term a raspberry in a pot would be ideal, but short term if the pot is big enough for their massive root system it might be OK. I haven't tried!

[hedgewizard]

Visited a polytunnel last week where the owner had popped a cane at the bottom of each hoop in November 2005. In 2006 she had lovely raspberries in June; in 2007 they decided to take over and she had to dig them out! If spreading is a big problem, you can line the planting trench side with slate or polythene.

[Mal]

What sort of watering requirements do raspberries (and soft fruit generally) have? I was thinking of putting them down the end of my plot (virtually the furthest point on any allotment on the site from a water source) but frankly I'm lazy so if they're big in to water then I might think again. If they're more likely than most things to survive without a daily supply then my plan still stands.

Any views?

[hedgewizard]

They need to be on well-drained soil, like a cool root zone (so mulch well) and don't need frequent watering except when flowering and fruiting; that makes the autumn (primocaine) varieties need more watering.