How to Grow Latham Red Raspberries

Plant Latham raspberries in full sun in fertile, well-drained soil. Space the plants 3 feet apart in rows 6 to 8 feet apart. Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball. Insert the root ball into the hole, positioning the crown, or center of the plant, about 2 inches deeper than it was growing in the nursery.

Fertilize Latham raspberries by watering them with water-soluble fertilizer mixed according to the manufacturer's directions. Give them one application when transplanting and then feed them every three weeks until mid-August.

Prune Latham raspberries in late March or early April. Remove any weak canes, as well as any dead or diseased ones. Cut back the tallest canes to a height of about 5 feet.

Immediately after the plants finish bearing fruit in summer, remove the canes that just bore fruit, cutting them off at ground level.

Mulch the raspberry patch, putting the mulch between the plants in the rows, as well as in the pathways between the rows. This will reduce the growth of weeds and help keep the soil evenly moist. Use an organic mulch such as hay, straw, shredded bark or buckwheat hulls.

Provide supplemental irrigation to your raspberry patch during the hottest part of summer when rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. During the first year after planting, keep them watered at this level throughout the growing season. Water them with a soaker hose laid on the soil; watering raspberries with a sprinkler from above can contribute to the spread of fungal diseases.