Can Raspberry Bushes Be Grown Near Blueberry Bushes?

Season

• Plant both raspberry and blueberry seedlings in early to midspring, about the last frost of the year. These plants are frost hardy but thrive with warm, gentle starts. Find and prepare the sites before you start the planting process to keep the transplants quick and stress free.

Sites

• Choose a large site for the fruit orchard and divide it into a blueberry patch and a raspberry patch. Both bushes do best with multiple plantings for better pollination and thrive with full sunshine, quick drainage and good air circulation. Allot 4 to 10 feet in the row for each blueberry plant and leave 8 to 10 feet between multiple rows. Allow 2 to 6 feet in the row for each raspberry bush and leave 10 feet between multiple rows. Leave at least 10 feet between the plots so that neither crop shades out the other. Eliminate any wild raspberries or blackberries in the area as these may harbor diseases.

Soil Preparation

• Raspberry and blueberry bushes both require loose, crumbly and nutritious soil, though blueberries need more acid content than do raspberries. Handling the initial tilling at the same time saves work. Specialize afterward for each plant. Till the top 10 inches of soil in each planting site and turn 5 inches of organic compost into the soil for moisture and nutrition. Add 5 inches of peat moss to blueberry planting sites as well for more acidity. Plant blueberry and raspberry seedlings in their amendment plots, in holes just large enough for their root balls.

Care

• Give raspberries a trellis system for growing, but allow blueberries support themselves. Water the entire orchard with 2 inches of water every week for adequate moisture. Use 2 to 3 inches of mulch throughout the orchard to protect soil quality and weed the plots regularly. The Ohio State University Extension recommends granular 10-10-10 fertilizer for both blueberries and raspberries with an application one week after planting and then again every spring thereafter. Give the plants fresh compost applications in spring as well for continued soil quality.