I bought 9 raspberry canes from T&M earlier in the year, 3 were Glen Moy, 3 Glen Ample (summer fruiting) and 3 were Autumn Bliss (autumn fruiting). I planted them all the same way back in March/April. 2 of the varieties have started growing nicely, but the canes feom the 3rd variety still haven't shown any sign of life.
Are they likely to be dead?
(Unfortunately I've lost the piece of paper I wrote down which was which!)
I would think there would be some signs of life by now, but give them a chance, as my Mailing Bliss went into their final planting position end February, and 2 out of the 3 only came up in the last few weeks! As spring has been delayed by the prolonged poor weather, soil temperatures are slow to rise.
Are they in a good sunny spot? Also look closely at the canes. It seems that the summer ones sprout from the base, while the autumn ones bud from last years wood. That will help you identify which are the summer fruiting and which are the autumn fruiting, if you look where the 2 that are growing, where they are growing from.
Hope this helps,
Niamh
Thanks Niamh
That's very useful. I shall check them tonight and try and work it out. Will also wait a little longer before giving up on them. I did think it strange that all 3 of the same variety haven't shown any life, so maybe it is just that it's been too cold.
Last November we planted raspberry canes from Ken Muir. The autumn ones are well under way, but the earlies have only just shown signs of life. I must say that I thought they were dead, but I guess each variety has its own timetable.
My Glen Ample were slow to start but are now in full flower! Mine are in dappled shade but a good rich spot. The autumn fruiters on our site were all cut down to the ground over the winter, and are now growing, but only just. However, if they aren't up in the next couple of weeks, I would think they are goners. :'(
I was left loads of canes by the last plot holder, I have no idea what variety they are but down here in Ipswich they are all shooting away. I hacked them all back(around September/October) to try to tidy up a bit and have now got about 2' of new growth.
This is our first year with raspberries, bought ten canes in autumn but didn't get round to putting them in until March. They are Leo - summer fruiting.
Didn't prune or anything when we planted them, I now understand they should have been but the ground was well prepared if nothing else!
They are now growing very well and I'm wondering what to do next. Will they fruit and if so should we stop them and how? I believe they make better fruits next year if stopped. I can't make sense of the advice on the web or in the expert books.
Sand
Tried the old scrape the bark test?
Quote from: sand on May 25, 2006, 21:49:25
..Leo - summer fruiting.... Will they fruit and if so should we stop them and how? ..
Summer types fruit mainly on last seasons growth, so if you haven't any woody growth from last year, you probably won't see much.
Fresh stems coming up this year are the ones that will turn woody and fruit next year. What is most likely, is that you will get a bit of fruit this year.
Now comes my opinion, because the books say to cut down the stems that have fruited this year, after fruiting, leaving only the new season's stems. I personally don't do that in the first year I plant raspberries. There will be leaves on these stems right up until the end of the year, and I think it helps the plant to build up its reserves of energy if you leave them in place. There's time enough the subsequent years to start following the normal procedure.
Still confused - sorry!
By new growth, do you mean from the ground or from the original stem (about 12" high)?
All of our growth is coming from the stem, not the ground. We are wondering whether to leave it be until next spring and cut all down to just above the ground. Only snag is that means waiting another year for fruit, very frustrating.
I want fruit and I want it NOW.....I'm not a patient gardener.
Sand
Quote from: Merry Tiller on May 25, 2006, 22:52:01
Tried the old scrape the bark test?
What's the scrape the bark test please? ???
I know this one. :)
Scrape the bark off the cane with your thumbnail, and if you can see green underneath it's still alive.
My mum taught me this years ago - it's how you can tell if the bits of twig in pots for sale for 20p on the clearance shelf at the garden centre are worth having. :D
Denbee, than you :)
Mine aren't doing too well, either- think I may have planted them too deep. :'(
Could be, they are very shallow rooting
One of my Autumn Bliss was very reluctant to show signs of life so I gave it a gentle tug up about an inch, settled some mulch round it and within a week the first shoots were visible. Now it is a healthy plant with two vigorous shoots so it was definitely planted too deep last Autumn. All the others were fine and into good growth weeks before I decided on the tug ;D
Tricia
To clarify, using actual years as examples:
Raspberries that fruit in autumn 2006, do so on stems which have freshly grown in year 2006. Depending on where you are, the fresh stems start growing from around April 2006 onwards.
You cut back the stems that have fruited (down to soil level) either in early winter, say Dec 2006 or early spring, say Feb 2007 depending on your preference. I do it around mid Feb to early March. Then more new stems start to shoot in say, April 2007.
Raspberries that fruit in summer 2006, do so on stems that were produced in the year 2005.
So, the stems that do produce fruit are cut down after they finish fruiting, and you must be careful to keep fresh stems that haven't fruited. These turn woody, and stand over winter 2006, and start to sprout leaves again come spring 2007, and then fruit.
At around the same time that they start to produce leaves, the new stems that will fruit in 2008 are also starting to push their way up.
Very clear explanation Jenny. I'm also new to raspberry growing so I have a question I am sure you can answer. I mulched my Autumn Bliss with garden compost in late March as they started into new growth. Do I need to feed them at any stage before they fruit?
Tricia
Well, I have clay soil, fairly rich with minerals etc, and I just spread a little compost on in very early spring.
Raspberries like soil slightly acid rather than alkali, and in poor soils would benefit from lots of organic matter, but applied as a mulch rather than dug in, as this would disturb the roots. I wouldn't use spent mushroom compost for example.
Commercially, they apply nitrogen feed when the shoots start showing, but I've never done this.
You lot are great! Such a mine of useful info! Can cross worrying about my raspberries off the list of jobs for today already! :)
Great explanation Jennym - first time I have understood that!
DenBee - great tip - will try this one, I am a sucker for the reject pile in garden centres, am always buying dead twigs!
My raspberries are kind of half and half. I think they are all the same variety (aren't they Icy??) - Autumn ones. But some are going great guns and others are only just sprouting. A couple which I was convinced were gonners have JUST this week started showing signs of life.
Yipee, I spotted some signs of life yesterday at the base of one of the 'dead' canes, so I'm glad I waited. Hopefully the other 2 will follow suit.
Thanks for all the info :-)