When to Transplant Raspberry Runners?

Growth Patterns

• Raspberry shrubs produce multiple canes from a single root. The brambly canes form dense thickets when left unpruned. In cultivation, growers keep raspberry shrubs to a few well-producing canes. Each cane grows and produces on a two-year cycle, producing fruit in the second year. Like other bramble plants, raspberries spread through underground runners. The plant sends up new new shoots from the base of the primary root and along the length of the runners.

Raspberry Runners

• Take advantage of the raspberry's natural self-propagation method to expand your raspberry bush collection. Dig out the new shoots from the base of the roots and the runners. Dig up the suckers in spring when they are 5 to 6 inches tall. Use a sharp shovel to remove the suckers from the parent plant, being sure to leave a section of root attached. Replant the suckers in pots or in the garden.

Planting Raspberry Suckers

• Whether you purchase dormant suckers from the nursery or dig up suckers from an existing raspberry bush, plant in spring as soon as the ground thaws. Plant the shoots so that they are at the same depth in the soil at the new planting site as they were in their original location. Plant suckers purchased from the nursery so that the roots are covered by soil. Soak the area to settle the soil and get the suckers established in their new environment.

Cultivating Raspberry Plants

• Plant new raspberry shrubs in a sunny spot with sandy soil and good drainage. A pH of 5.8 to 6.5 is ideal for growing raspberries. Space the plants three to four feet apart in a row. You can plant raspberries as part of a living hedge in a semiwild area or in cultivated rows in a garden bed. Once a cane produces fruit in the second year, remove it from the plant. Prune out canes after harvest in the fall.