How to Grow Raspberries

Every time you eat a dessert topped with raspberries, imagine harvesting them fresh. Well, don't just imagine, grow them, these beautiful plants that bear clusters of red, even black raspberries whose sweet tarty taste will always keep you longing for more. This highly commercially cultivated crop belongs to the plant species in the genus Rubus. Although raspberries are warm climate fruits, they can now be enjoyed throughout the year with special horticulture techniques.

Growing Raspberries

You want to know something really unusual about raspberries? A single raspberry fruit you hold is basically lots of small fruits (lobes) that are joined tightly together to make a larger fruit! How? Well, raspberries are aggregate fruits, which means that one raspberry flower contains several ovaries, which develop into (very) small fruits. These small fruits are held together and are arranged around a hollow central cavity. Following are a few tips to grow raspberries at home.

Propagation
Raspberries can be propagated through seeds, root cuttings, runners, tip layering, tissue culture and stem cuttings. If you are interested to grow them using seeds, the method is simple. Sow seeds in warm months, preferably indoors, in a sowing medium. Seeds germinate within a week. Root cuttings and runners, as well as using suckers involves the same basic method. Separate them using sharp shears from the mother plant, and repot immediately. For propagation through tip layering, bend and push a stem into a small pot close to the mother plant. Severe the connection once the daughter plants have roots and leaves. Semi-hard wood cutting dipped in rooting hormone can also be used as another propagation method.

Planting and Aftercare
Raspberries grow very well in soil which is rich and well-drained with a pH balance of 6.0 to 6.5. Rake the soil well to clear all weed, and turn the soil over with organic compost a couple of times. Deep digging is not essential as raspberries roots are shallow. A maximum ten inch depth will do. Experts advise against the use of location or soil where pepper, tomato, eggplant and potato have been previously planted. Verticillium wilt is a fungus harbored by these plants and is capable of infecting raspberry plants.

Raspberries are suited for container gardening too. Choose an appropriate size and maintain the soil condition similar to the one mentioned above. Plant the number of raspberries keeping in mind their eventual size. Do not crowd the container. In vegetable beds, plant each plant about two feet apart in rows spaced about eight feet apart. Raspberries require cane staking or the support of a trellis, although a few erect growing varieties are also available. While planting, spread out the roots and cover with soil, lightly compacting as you go. Place a support system at the same time, and water well. Raspberries benefit from mulching.

Apply very little fertilizer the first year, and then regularly around its growing season. Avoid late summer fertilizing to reduce the possibility of winter damage. Never apply fertilizer too close to the main stem, make a small berm and work around that. Pruning should be avoided in the first year, the raspberry plant should be allowed to establish itself well. Prune all canes that hold fruit, cutting them right back to the ground. Encourage lateral growth, just keep a few strong canes and remove the rest. Cut all lanky, damaged and diseased canes.

Raspberries are susceptible to gray mold wilt, cane blight, spur blight, powdery mildew, root rot, fungal diseases that cause fruit drop, and pests such as the cane borer, raspberries fruitworm, mites, beetles, etc. Most of them can be taken care of with pest or disease specific germicides and regular pruning.

Pick raspberry fruits regularly when they feel firm by pulling them gently from the plug like structure that holds them. Enjoy raspberries fresh, dried or frozen!