How To Plant And Care For The Raspberry Plant

Do you want to have your own fruit garden? Or do you want to have some fruit trees in your garden to have fresh juicy fruit supply at home? Well, you can do both of these things with the help of a raspberry plant. 

The raspberry plant is easy to grow and care for fruit plant which you can grow for yourself. This is also a good option even if you are a beginner in fruit garden care and growing. What’s even amazing is that even in a small space, the raspberries can yield a phenomenal quantity of harvest. Additionally to this, if you provide the raspberry with proper care, they fruit year after year. 

In the article, we will tell you all about how to grow and care for the raspberries in your own space. We will also explain some basics of how to harvest raspberries. 

Raspberry Plant 

Before we move on to the care and growing tips for the raspberry, let’s understand its two varieties. There are two types of the raspberry plant which you can grow for yourself, these are:

• The first variety of the raspberry plant is the summer fruiting one. This is the more common type among the two varieties of this fruit. The summer fruiting type of the raspberry bear fruits once in a year during the summer season in the June – July months. 
• This plant’s second type is the everbearing raspberry which is popular by the names of autumn or fall-bearing ones. The everbearing variety of the raspberry produces the berries on the new canes. The good thing about this variety is that they bear fruits during the fall season as well as in the summer season. 

These are two types of the raspberry plant which you can grow for yourself. For an increased and throughout supply of the juicy raspberries, using a mix of both types in the garden is suggested. One more good thing about the raspberries is that they are self-fertile, which means that you only need a single bush for fruit production. These plants are pollinated best by the bees. The good thing is that they start producing the fruit in the next year of their plantation. 

In addition to these types, some other varieties of the raspberry plant are available in the market. These varieties come according to the climate zones as naturally, the raspberries are for cooler climates. One popular variety of this plant is the black raspberry plants which you can grow. 

Planting The Raspberries

Now when we know about the seasonal variations of the raspberry plant, let’s move onto the plantation. Follow these steps for planting the raspberry:

When To Plant The Raspberries?

The first thing you need to know for planting a plant is when to plant it for a popper yield. For raspberries, these are some steps:

• For planting, get the raspberry canes which are at least a year old, from a good nursery. 
• Now plant these canes of raspberry into the soil during the spring season. Remember to do it when the ground is thawed out and is ready to be worked, which means it’s frost-free. 
• If you live in areas with a mild climate, then you can also plant raspberries in the autumn season. This will act as a head start for the raspberries. 
• Plant the potted transplant of the raspberry during the spring season once the threat of frost is over. 

These are some tips that you should remember to help you with questions like when to plant raspberries. 

Preparing And Choosing A Site For Planting The Raspberries

In the next step, you need to choose and prepare the site where you want to go for planting your raspberries. Follow these steps when choosing and preparing the site:

• The raspberries love the sun. Thus for best results, you need to plant them at the spot where they can get direct sun. The more the sun, the more the fruit. 
• However, unlike many other varieties of fruits, raspberries can also do good in the partial shade. 
• The site where you plant your raspberries needs to have good drainage and rich spill composition. 
• The plantation site should also have good air circulation for the raspberry plant. However, remember that the spot is not too windy as this may harm the plant. 
• You should also avoid wet areas as the raspberries don’t like to stand in the water. They also don’t like the soil completely dry out. Thus you will need to maintain the moisture for better growth but remember not to overwater them. 
• For the best results, you will also need to provide your raspberries with some couples of the aged manure or compost. For doing this, you will need to dig up the ground at least a couple of weeks before the plantation. 

These are some of the steps which you need to remember when preparing and choosing the ground for planting the raspberry. An important thing to remember is that never plant your raspberries near any kind of wild berries. This is essential as the closeness of wild berries may lead to the spread of their pests and diseases to your raspberry plant. 

How To Plant Raspberries?

Now when you know how to choose the site and when to plant the raspberries, let’s move onto the next step of how to plant raspberries. Follow these steps for best results:

• Before planting, you should soak the roots of the raspberries canes in the water for at least 1 or 2 hours. 
• Now dig a hole in accordance with the size of your raspberry plant roots. The hole must be large enough to accommodate the roots of your plant. 
• In case you are planting more than one bush of the raspberry, then it is more convenient to dig a trench. This is the easiest way to grow multiple raspberry plant in a single go. 
• No matter whether you are planting a potted or barefooted raspberry plant, you need to keep the crown of the plant at least 1 to inches above the ground. 
• The canes must have a gap of at least 18 inches in between them when planting the raspberry. You also need to keep a distance of 4 feet among the rows of the canes. 
• After the planting, fill the soil back and use your feet to tamp it. 
• Once the plantation is complete, cut down the bushes to a size of 9 inches. Yes, this will make them look like broken branches coming out of the soil, but it will also increase the growth rate. 
• Depending on the variety of the raspberry canes, you may also need to provide them with some support to stand. 
• In case you plant a row of the raspberry plant, then go for installing some posts at a particular distance. After it using the posts, tie a galvanized wire and use it to support the canes. 

These are some tips that will help when searching for the answer to how to plant raspberries. 

How To Care For The Raspberry Plant?

These are some of the care steps which you need to follow for the raspberry plant:

• Mulching on a regular basis is an essential thing. This is important as mulching on a regular basis helps in the prevention of weeds. The mulching helps in preserving moisture as well as suffocating the weeds. Thus you should keep a thick layer of mulching around the plants. 
• You also need to water them up to one inch during the springs till the season of harvest. One more thing to know is that water theme on a regular basis instead of soaking them deeply. 
• Dig up any kind of suckers that might grow around the canes. This is essential as otherwise, the suckers will dry away the nutrients from the soil. This will lead to fewer berries in the next harvest season. 

These are some of the care tips for the raspberries which you should remember and follow to have a healthy raspberry plant. They will also help in increasing the harvest.

Pruning The Raspberry

The pruning plays a vital role in keeping the plants healthy and in a good harvest. For the best result, you will need to cut down the raspberries just after the fruit picking is complete. However, remember to only cut the canes which have produced the fruits to the ground. You should allow the other young canes to grow before pruning them. 

Now time the remaining raspberry canes to the galvanized wires or the support which you installed in the beginning. Remember that there should not be more than one cane every four inches. If you find more than one cane, then remember to cut them off. 

Diseases And Pests In Raspberry Plant

The raspberries are one of the few plants which are very less bothered by the problem of pest and disease. However, the black raspberry plants are more at risk in comparison to the purple and red ones. 

Some of the common disease and pests which might harm the raspberry plant are:

• You need to keep an eye on the Japanese beetles and spider mites. These two pests attack the [lant during the months of June and August. The raspberry plant is a favorite of the Japanese beetle, if we say in particular. 
• In case you live in an area where there are rabbits, then you need to create a fence. This is important as the rabbits love to eat the raspberries and thus can damage the planet. 
• Cane borers and these powdery mites are also some kinds of pests that might harm the raspberries. However, these two are not that common and occur rarely. 

These are some of the diseases and pests for which you should lookout. 

Harvesting The Raspberry Plant

The harvesting of the raspberry is easy, and all you need to do is follow our small guide featured below:

• All the types and varieties of the raspberry plant start to produce the fruit in the second season after planting. 
• In some cases of the ever bearer, the plant may even have some berries in the first autumn season also. 
• During the early summer season, the berries will get ripe in a period of around 2 weeks. Thus you need to pick the berries after every couple of weeks or days. 
• To avoid any problem, go for harvesting during a sunny day as it during the sunny days the berries are dry.
• When harvesting, don’t tug the berries too hard. This is essential as the ripe raspberries leave the vine easily on, putting a little more pressure. 

These are some of the harvest tips which you need to follow for the raspberry plant. 

Raspberry Storage

The storage of the raspberry-like any other fruit also has some specific needs. These are:

• The raspberries don’t last long after you pick them, so enjoy them as soon as possible. This will help you get that celsius dwindling taste along with a boost of nutrition and vitamin-like vitamin c. 
• The berries can last up to five days in the refrigerator. But remember, don’t wash the berries until you want to eat them. This is important as the wet berries will get mushy and moldy. 
• The amazing thing about raspberries is that you can freeze them. All you need to do is prepare a single layer of raspberries using a cookie sheet. After it is stored using the air-tight bags. Now you can use them with various dishes like waffles or directly when you need a healthy nutrition-filled snack. 

These are some of the storage tips which you need to remember for the storage of the raspberry. 

Recommended Varieties Of Raspberry

There are a number of raspberry varieties available in the market which you can get for yourself. The good thing is that each of the varieties is unique in itself. Here is a list of some varieties which you can get to begin:

• Canby: The canny variety of the raspberries are red in color and bear fruit in the summer. This variety is thornless. 
• Heritage: This is a type of everbearing raspberry plant which has red fruits. 
• Fallgold: The fall gold is a variety of raspberry, which is yellow in color and is everbearing. 
• Royalty: These are summer bearing type of the raspberry plant which produce purple color berries. 
• Plainsman: The plainsman is an everbearing variety that produces red color berries. 
• Double Gold: This is everbearing variety of raspberry, which has yellow color berries. The thing which makes them different from the other varieties is that they have a ting off peach taste in them. 
• Black Hawk: This is a summer-bearing type of raspberry plant which has black color berries. 
• Jewel: The jewel is a summer-bearing variety of raspberries. It is one of the most popular types of black raspberry plants. 

These are some of the popular varieties of the raspberry plant which you can have for a nutritious homegrown fruit. For the best results, ask your gardener which variety is most suitable for your climate zone. This is essential as each variety has different climate and nutrition needs. 

The raspberry plant is easy to grow and care plant, which you can easily grow at your home. To help you with this, we have prepared a guide for you in the above article. 

Final Words

Do you want a homegrown plant for a boost of nutrition and vitamins like vitamin C? If yes, then the raspberry plant can be the perfect choice for you. 

What’s amazing about the raspberry plant is that there are a number of varieties available for this plant. So you get to choose the one which best suits your needs and climate zone. One thing which you will love about this plant is that no matter which variety you choose, they are easy to grow and care for.