Raspberry Plants

Raspberry plants are easy enough to grow and care for, but you must understand
how the plant works in order to care for them properly.

Raspberries grow best in a well drained soil with a pH 6.0-6.5. Plant them in the fall or early spring, set them 2" deeper in the soil than they were previously growing. They ideally should be planted about 2' - 2 1/2' apart in rows 7' to 8' apart. Then cut them back to about 4"tall.

When first planted Raspberries will not produce any fruit the first year. They do not produce fruit on new growth, only two year old wood. But the raspberry canes only live two years. So each fall or late summer the spent canes that produced fruit should be removed.

The remaining canes should be topped at about 36", forcing the growth into lateral side branches which should be trained along support wires.

Some Raspberries are summer bearing and some are ever bearing, so make sure you know what yours are so you don't prune them to early and lose out on the that second flush of fruit. If you are not sure wait until fall to prune them. Ever bearing varieties can actually produce
fruit on new growth. This happens in late fall.

Everbearing raspberries are generally grown in hardiness zones 4-7. Summer bearing raspberries are grown in hardiness zones 4-8 depending on the variety.

When pruning it should be easy to distinguish the newest growth from the two
year old growth. Do not remove the new growth unless the plant is just too full.
All parts of the plant need good air circulation and sunlight. Keep that in mind
as you prune.

Not thinning raspberries is a huge mistake. Make sure you thin yours each fall for
good fruit production which should last for about 10 years.

Each spring apply a SMALL amount of 12-12-12 garden fertilizer spread over the root zone, about 1 pound per 10 feet of row.