The Best Way to Plant Raspberry Plants

Study Up

• Select the best varieties for your area. Master gardeners, the agriculture extension office and knowledgeable staff at local nurseries can suggest specific cultivars. There are two fruiting types: summer-bearing and fall-bearing. Summer-bearing raspberries produce fruit in early summer atop first-year canes (primocanes). Fall-bearing raspberries are also called everbearing, because if they are pruned like summer-bearing types they will produce two fruit crops each year--one in the summer, on second-year canes (floricanes), and one in the fall on first-year canes (primocanes). They can also be managed to produce only the fall crop, however, which is the usual practice in very cold climates; all canes are cut to the ground after harvest. Roots of winter hardy raspberries can take below-zero temperatures, but the canes are more vulnerable.

  Most raspberries are not suited to southern climates because they don’t do well in intense heat, though they are grown in some areas. Climates with cool summers--or late instead of early summer heat--as well as little harvest-time rain and mild winters are ideal for most types. Red raspberry varieties are generally hardiest, followed by purple raspberries then black raspberries. Most red and yellow raspberries are summer-bearing. (Yellow- or amber-colored types are mutations of red raspberries, and are essentially the same except for berry color.) Red raspberries have upright canes. There are many varieties or cultivars to choose among. Distinctive black or “blackcap” raspberries, which thrive in Oregon, have arched canes. Unlike the reds, blackcaps don’t generate new canes from roots; new canes sprout only from the base of old canes. In most parts of the country black raspberries are less hardy than red or purple raspberries and are more prone to insects and diseases. Purple raspberries are hybrids of red and black types, with a growth habit similar to blackcaps. These plants are less cold hardy than red raspberries but are quite vigorous otherwise, and fairly resistant to pests and diseases. As with red raspberries, many black and purple cultivars are available.

Plan for Permanence

• Choose a permanent planting area or bed. Like blackberries, raspberries are perennial--the roots live for eight to 10 years--but individual canes are biennial, living only two years. Full sun is best, but raspberries can tolerate settings that are shaded part of the day. Ideally, plan rows to run north to south, to optimize available sunlight, and also in the same direction as prevailing wind, for better air movement. All varieties thrive in well-drained, fertile, loamy soil; avoid heavy clay and very sandy soils. For red raspberries, locate your berry patch so there's plenty of room to mow or till on both sides of the row, to make it easier to keep suckers under control. Raspberry plants also require adequate moisture and protection from wind and frost.

Pick a System

• Plan your planting arrangement, based on the berries you’ve chosen. Red raspberries are usually grown in a hedgerow system, planted about 2 feet apart in rows spaced 6 to 8 feet apart. New plants will send up canes from both roots and crowns and form a hedge, which should spread no wider than 15 to 18 inches. Some people prefer a “hill” system for red raspberries, creating a cluster of canes around a single plant, then confining cane spread to 1 1/2 feet maximum; space hills 3 feet apart within the row, leaving 6 to 8 feet between rows. The hill system is best for black and purple raspberries, though space plants 3 to 4 feet apart in the row allowing 8 to 10 feet between rows.

Dig Deep to Prepare Properly

• Prepare your soil before planting, cultivating deeply. Depending on your soil’s condition, proper preparation may take a year or two. Improve problem soils by tilling and adding compost, well-rotted manure and other organic matter; sand will lighten heavy loam. For serious drainage problems--raspberries don’t tolerate “wet feet” caused by standing water--consider building raised beds. Test your initial soil pH. Raspberries prefer somewhat acidic soil, in the pH range of 5.6 to 6.2. Adjusting pH is a long-term project; if a change is needed, begin a year or two before you plant. To increase soil pH (make it more alkaline), add hydrated lime; to decrease it (make it less alkaline but more acidic), add ground rock sulfur.

Buy Those Berries and Baby Them

• Buy and plant your berries. If you’re buying online and planning to plant bare root canes, you’ll want to order well ahead of time; nurseries will ship the canes close to the ideal planting time for your area. Plant after the last hard frost, but otherwise as early in the spring as the soil can be worked. If planting bare root berries follow nursery instructions. If planting more established plants, spread out the root mass and set the plant in the ground so the highest root attachment is no more than 1 to 2 inches below ground level. Primary roots grow in a horizontal direction; planting too deeply will make it difficult for new canes to emerge. Firm soil around the roots and water thoroughly. Be sure to keep plant roots moist before, during and after planting. Cut back canes on new plants to 6 inches and deter fruit production for the first year, which will strengthen the plants.

Provide Full Support

• Provide trellis supports for your berries, to improve fruit quality and ease of harvest and also to reduce disease. A simple trellis system using heavy wire strung between posts is easiest; drive T-posts into the soil, pull wire from one post to the next as tightly as possible, then attach. For long rows, use heavier or braced posts at the end of rows and space lighter posts between them about 15 to 20 feet apart. To support hill system plantings, drive in a T-post next to each plant and tightly string a wire (about 4 or 4 1/2 feet above the ground) between all posts in the row. Tie canes to the post or spread fruiting canes along the wire.