How to Raise and Prune Raspberry Plants

Purchase raspberry plants from a local nursery for the best chances of success. Most varieties of raspberries are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 7, and your local nursery will carry those that thrive in your climate.

Protect your raspberry plants from their main disease threat, verticillium wilt, by planting them away from any plot that has been home to eggplant, peppers, potatoes or tomatoes in the past four years.

Plant your raspberries in fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. The location should receive full sunlight. Plant in early spring, after the danger of frost has passed, or late fall. Mix a well-balanced (10-10-10) all-purpose fertilizer into the soil before planting.

Transplant by setting the plants 2 inches deeper in the soil than they were previously growing. Prune them back to a height of about 4 inches.

Fertilize the plants again once in the early spring if you planted them in the fall, using the same type of fertilizer (10-10-10 or similar).

Water raspberries at a rate of at least 1 to 2 inches per week. Do not let them dry out, especially during the flowering and fruiting period.

Prune the canes all the way back to the ground after the raspberries are produced. Prune only those canes that have fruited; the others will produce berries the following year.

Harvest red raspberries when they come off the core easily. For black raspberries, look for a dark color and also taste them to determine the best time for picking.