Raspberry Cane Planting Guide

Plant Raspberry plants in full sun in well-drained soils. If you are planting in a clay soil location, you will want to plant the raspberry can in a raised bed. If you receive constant high winds, like in the Midwest, you will want to use some kind of wind block to prevent the plants from drying out. You want to pick a location that has been free of the following garden plants: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, cucumbers, squash and melons for at least four years, to protect from soil-borne diseases. Also, do not plant next to blackberry vines, in order to protect from viruses.

You want to plant as a hedgerow, spacing the raspberry every foot to a foot and a half. Soak the roots for only a few hours prior to planting in order to hydrate, and dig shallow holes large enough to spread out the root structure. The depth of the hole should be the point at which the first root is only one inch below the soil surface. Backfill the hole with the native soil. Water the plants in, and if any settling occurs then add more soil; you will want to continue with light frequent watering until established. Also prune the raspberry cane back to six inches tall.

You will probably want to grow your raspberry plants on a trellis or fence to help keep them erect; you can tie the raspberries to the wire of the trellis to keep them supported. After you have harvested the raspberry, prune all canes that had flowers or fruit as they will not fruit again, and this will make way for the next generation of canes.

When irrigating fruiting or flowering raspberries do not use overhead irrigation; instead use a drip system at a rate of one inch of water a week to minimize diseases. When transplanting it is highly recommended to use Soil Moist Transplant Mix and our Nutra-Pro 1st Year Fertilizer packs. The Soil Moist Transplant Mix is simply buried at the bottom of the hole and will cut your watering needs down by 50% and supply your plants with minor elements that your soils may be lacking. Nutra-Pro 1st year fertilizer packs are custom engineered with micro-porous holes to feed your plants the entire 1st year with all the fertilizer and nutrients need. Do not broadcast granular fertilize your new plants as you will more than likely burn the roots and kill the plants.