Hi all! First post here. So in my backyard there is a naturally growing rubus occidentalis tree. I love those fruits quite a bit, so I took a cutting from it and planted it in a pot (I would have planted it in the soil next to the original tree but, long story short : There's not enough space/not allowed to do so) So this cutting had very good growth in its first year and even produced some fruits in late summer (which is very unusual! Normally, the tree that grows there naturally produces fruits from early June to early July). Then when winter time came, I put it in my garage so it could go in dormancy. I took it out in late april to be sure it wouldn't be exposed to frost. We had temperatures nearing 0 around here but it didn't go under that. Since then, I observed very little activity. The tree seems alive because I noticed a bunch of new sprouts but they seem to develop extremely slowly. The original tree in the backyard is starting to fruit and is doing quite well with very healthy leaves. Any ideas concerning the origin of the problem or a solution? Thanks!
The problem might be related to a lack of winter chilling. Black raspberries are a temperate fruit that normally requires a significant amount of winter chilling to grow properly, especially if you have a native plant and not a cultivar.
You mean that it should have been left outside during winter? Ahhh..didn't know about that. I thought there was chances it could die if exposed to frost cause it was relatively still a small plant. I thought maybe its root system isn't developed enough to survive winter. Anything to do in that situation?
If you want more black raspberry plants, tip layering works well; they do it naturally in the wild. You can then transplant the new plants next spring.
All is as it should be. The Black Raspberry canes are biennial. New canes grow vegetatively the first year. In the second year they flower and fruit and after that they die. What had happened, you took and planted the cutting from the cane in it's second year of growth, so after it managed to root sufficiently it tried to fruit. It didn't have enough time and energy to produce new shoots though, so you have nothing to produce fruit this year. The new shoots that are sprouting now (it looks like it is doing well!) will grow vegetatively this year, and flower and fruit the next year. Each year the cycle will repeat itself, previous year canes will produce fruits and die after that, the current year canes will grow vegetatively only. Your original cane that developed from the cutting must be dead now. It is normal that your new sprouts grow very slowly, the root system is hardly established yet. Spread a handful of Alfalfa meal on top of the soil and cover it with a nice mulch (about 3 cm) of pesticide and herbicide free grass cuttings to help. Repeat mulching every month or so. One more thing, if you want to grow the plant in a pot make sure it is a really big pot. Black Raspberry likes a lot of room around itself, deep and wide. Protect the pot from the hot sun in the summer and from excessive cold in winter, may be you could put the pot into a wooden box, or something like that?
Ohhh that explains quite a few things! I guess I should have done more research on this plant before starting to cultivate it. Thanks a lot, it will be a new beginning with this crucial information in mind!
