Raspberries
Raspberries are perennial plants but their canes are biennial – each cane dies after 2 years. A first-year cane is called a primocane, and the second-year cane is called a floricane.
Summer bearing
Floricane-bearing: only bear fruits at the 2nd-year cane
Primocanes can grow 4-8′ at the first year
Fruits ripen around summer
Prune in late fall or early spring: remove all spent floricanes
– Royalty, Jewel, Reveille, Killarney, Cowichan, Cascade Delight, Canby
Fall bearing
Primocane-bearing/ ever-bearing: can bear fruit on the 1st-year and 2nd-year cane.
Primocanes sprout in early spring and flowers in mid-summer
Fruits ripen in late summer – fall
Pruning: canes should be topped just below the lowest (previous) flower cluster
–Polka, Polana, Joan J, Josephine, Caroline
How to grow it
The most common way is starting from bare roots for any varieties. Immediately before planting, soak the roots in water for 1-2 hrs. After that, apply 1-2″ of water per week. Mulching helps keep the moisture for shallow roots.
Summer-bearing
Fall-bearing/everbearing
Summer-bearing
Fall-bearing/everbearing
Requirements
Water management is critical for the first 6 weeks after planting. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Do not add fertilizer when planting, as excess fertilization damages the roots or can stimulate excessive top growth before the roots develop.
Water
Drip line + mulch to keep your soil moist but not soggy.
Soil
Well-drained sandy soil and preferably pH of 5.5 – 7.0. Add organic matter to improve soil drainage and nutrient holding capacity.
Sun/shade
8+ hrs full sun is required but provide shade in the afternoon to prevent fruit sunburn.
Plant with…
- Garlic, Chives, Nasturtiums, Leeks, Onions, Chamomile: repelling bugs
- Chervil, tansy, yarrow, artemisia : attract bees
- Turnips: repel the harlequin beetle
Don’t plant with…
- Brassicas: nutrition theif
- fennel: inhibit growth
- potato, tomato, egg plant: pest
- melon, mint, peach, apricot, cherry: fungal disease (Verticillium Wilt)
Trellising
Raspberries can get out of control. Trelissing can reduce cane breakage, to keep fruit off the ground and make harvesting easier. Here are the examples from online-
