We have a patch of everbearing red raspberries, & they do spread. The lateral roots are below ground, so you won't know the plant is spreading until it puts up a shoot to the surface. The volunteers are easily pulled, in the spring, when the ground is damp from recent rainfall.

So do any grown well in containers? Any varieties to suggest for z6b/7a?

I would like to know if there are any varieties that do well in containers also.
James

Consider raspberries as invasive as normal weeding. If you see new shoots, you can either dig them up and plant elsewhere, or just cut off the shoots at ground level. I was able to easily control the spreading into my garden every year, but just tilling around the patch.

& there is nothing like picking fresh rasperries warm from the sun! Remember fertility helps keep plants 'at home.' They love compost, & 'fertile, well drained soil.' There are thornless varieties of both raspberries & blackberries to make picking easier. A trellis system of some kind also makes for easy access to fruit, helps define the bed, & you'll notice 'strays' more easily as well.

The book 'Berries, Cultivation, Decoration & Recipes' by Mary Forsell with photos by Tony Cenicola is a lovely feast for the eyes, & the descriptions of some of the unusual berries make me want to seek them out!

Blackberries are the most invasive plant that I could ever imagine... They grow fast, and you have to get up every little bit of the root or they'll keep comming back... over and over and over!!!! AAAHHHH!!!!

I love the taste of blackberries... they just aren't conductive to compactness.

I honestly don't know that I'd even try it in a container... if it's outside, a single root, or shoot could get away from you.. then it's all over!!!!

I have a thornless blackberry growing in a big plastic container. I planted it last year and it grew 15-20 feet. Im hoping this year it really produces some fruit. We shall see.

yes, invasive. My very worst weed ever, the blackberry.

I would not recommend that you plant either, unless you want a briar patch.

Don't plant any "wild" blackberries, like himalayan, which is one of the scourges of the NW. Himalayan blackberries are certainly what vixenmoon is talking about, and most likely greenwitch and painterbug too.

However, most cultivated types are not nearly as vigorous and spreading as this invasive species. (Don't buy tayberries, which taste sinful, but they are himalayans in disguise!) Thornless varieties are far easier to handle. For blackberries, which tip-root, look for upright habit, which will not have nearly the tendency to tip-root as the vining types. Commercial farms mow along the rows to keep down volunteers of raspberry, since they creep underground. Or you could use bamboo barrier around a raspberry. I have not had a problem with seed volunteering from my cultivated blackberries and raspberries, unlike the himalayan blackberry, which seeds itself regularly.

Blackberries and raspberries are so delicious, don't let the unrulyness of the wild types discourage you. There are varieties you can buy and preventative measures you can take to not have to worry about them taking over.

Zonetrap, you're in the same zone as me. Did your blackberry need a ton of water to keep going? I've been wanting to try raspberries and blackberries, but I was afraid they wouldn't do well here in El Paso, TX.

Ayame

I don't grow blackberries, so I can't comment on them, but the red do spread. However, there is always a tradeoff, and for a little extra work in the garden, which I enjoy anyway, we get fresh raspberries.

I also grow native black raspberries and they aren't nearly as bad as the red, but the berries are considerably smaller. I think the plants are more attractive than the red as well.

I think many berries are deemed "invasive" but I think it is worth the tradeoff!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder :)

Jeanne

PS--in our neck of the woods fresh berries of any type, even when in season, cost you a small fortune for a small amount of berries.

Growing up in SW WA the only way we could get rid of blackberry vines was slash & burn then pigs to root-out the roots. And still my mom made jar after jar of BB jelly.

I got some Fall Gold raspberries, and plan on putting them in those large colorful tubs you can buy at K-Mart for $5. I'm going to drill holes in the sides, slightly above the bottom, then place them on 16x16" concrete paver slabs.

Sue

Try the ground cover raspberry.

Dredging up an old thread and wondering if a possible 'cure' for invasive raspberries would be to plant them in a bottomless 5 gal bucket with the top of the bucket just above soil level? Thoughts?

yes, they are very invasive.

I have regular garden edging and they went under that in 2 years. If you find edging that is at least twice deeper, you may be good.

But then that deep edging will cut off moisture in your blackberry bed from the rest of the garden, and that is no good.

5 gallons seems too tight. Maybe if you cut apart, and unroll several plastic buckets in a row and use it as deep edging it may work.