how to manage raspberries...

Discussion in 'Fruit and Vegetable Gardening' started by Eyeris, Apr 22, 2006.

  1. Eyeris

    Eyeris Active Member

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    Location:
    Mississauga
    1st full summer in a new house and there are raspberries everywhere!!!! Very exciting, but how do I stop them from falling over and rotting to the ground so quickly? They seem to sprout up where ever they feel like...I've included a picture to help with any ideas. I've read that people stake them up but how would I do this with my plants growing so far apart from each other?
    Thanks,
    E.
     
  2. Dunc

    Dunc Active Member

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    Location:
    Port Alberni B.C. Canada
    Your canes will grow to 4 to 5' high and will bend back to the ground unless, you support them. As the picture shows, you have a wooden fence on the back, your easiest solution is to drive in some posts about 2 feet from the fence and string some clothesline wire, or something more expensive 'parrallel to the fence. Make a row about 2' up and another at 4' and attach each end back to the fence. That will corral them nicely and pose no weight problem on the fence, they will mutually support each other once they have virtical stability.
    Ask again in the fall about how to prune them, in the meantime enjoy.
     
  3. Eyeris

    Eyeris Active Member

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    Thanks so much Dunc! I will post again in the fall, but in the meantime...am I supposed to cut anything back once the canes bear fruit...or just leave them until they die out?
    E.
     
  4. oscar

    oscar Active Member

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    Location:
    Surrey, England
    agreed with dunc about putting some supporting posts and wire.....4 wires evenly spaced upto 6' high (2 would probably work just as well) if they're early fruiting varieties you will need to tie in new canes as they appear and grow (these shoots will produce the fruit next year) select the strongest shoots cut out/remove any really weak shoots. Once you have picked all the fruit off the canes this summer (the ones that are there already) you can then cut them down to the ground.
     
  5. Eyeris

    Eyeris Active Member

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    Location:
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    Thanks again for your responses. Would anyone happen to have a picture handy of raspberries that have been "tied - in". I'm trying to figure out the easiest / best way to do this seeing that a lot of my canes are quite far away from the main plant. (I'm such a visual person!*smile*)
     

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