How to Take Care of Raspberry Trees

Raspberries are small, red fruits that grow wild in many temperate places around the world and are cultivated in many others. This sweet, little fruit is prized as a fresh or frozen delicacy as well as for its flavoring in jellies, jams and juices. The plants that bear raspberries are called trees, bushes or canes. All of those designations are technically correct, but, scientifically the raspberry grows on a woods, thorn bearing, multi-branched shrub, so, it is rightfully called a bush. A raspberry bush loves sunlight, fresh air and well drained soil.

Shovel
Sand
Clay
Potting soil
Raspberry bush
Razor knife
Straw
Water hose with mist nozzle
10-10-10-fertilizer
Pruning shears
Work gloves
Safety glasses

Instructions

- 1
  Dig hole a with your shovel. Make the hole twice as large as the root-ball on your raspberry bush.
- 2
  Add a mixture of sand, clay and potting soil to the hole. Use a ratio of 45 percent sand, 20 percent clay and 35 percent soil. Turn the ingredients in the hole repeatedly to achieve a consistent mixture.
- 3
  Make a hole in the mixture with your hands large enough for the root-ball to fit inside. Cut the canvass off the root-ball with a razor knife. Lower the root-ball into the hole. Cover the root-ball with your sand, clay and soil combination.
- 4
  Plant your raspberry bush in early spring. Put it where it will get morning and early afternoon sun. Mulch your bush every three months with straw.
- 5
  Keep your raspberry bush away from tomatoes, potatoes and blackberries. Do not plant a raspberry bush where these plants have been in the soil for at least three years.
- 6
  Check for and remove weeds daily. Water your raspberry bush with the mist nozzle on your hose plants at twilight each evening.
- 7
  Feed your raspberry bush monthly. Move the straw mulch away from the plant and apply the amount of 10-10-10 fertilizer recommended by the manufacturer. Scatter the straw mulch over the fertilizer.
- 8
  Prune the bush with shears in late spring. Remove dead and unwanted branches from the bush. Repeat the process in late summer after the harvest is complete.

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