Black Raspberry Bush Propagation

History

• In the 1800s, H. H. Doolittle of Oaks Corners, New York, developed a method of propagating black raspberries on a commercial scale, according to the New York State College of Agricultural and Life Sciences,. The method is called tip-layering, and to this day it is the primary method used to propagate black raspberries, especially in commercial settings.

Methods

• Tip-layering allows the mother plant to quickly and successfully produce several identical plants. Each of the cane tips of the mother black raspberry plant is buried in 2 to 3 inches of soil in early fall. The mother plant continues to send water and nutrition to the tips, so they produce roots faster and a successful new plant by spring. Stem cuttings also can be used for propagation, since the cuttings tend to root well. The cutting is planted so that the top half is above ground with its leaves to produce energy for the plant, while the lower half has its leaves removed and is planted in well-drained soil. Seeds may be planted as well, but they do not always germinate true to cultivar.

Problems

• The health of the mother plant affects the health of the offspring propagated by tip-layering or cutting. The University of Illinois Extension points out that black raspberries infected by a bramble virus remain so for life. This means that all suckers or tips will carry the virus, and ultimately be poor-performing plants or perhaps not even survive propagation.

Considerations

• Black raspberries also can be propagated by seed, but this process is time-consuming and unpredictable. Seeds can take from three weeks to several months to germinate, according to the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, and reaching fruiting maturity after this point is an even longer process. However, seeds might not carry the viruses of the mother plant.