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lindavarga20

Replant Raspberry canes, store in container til Fall?

8 years ago

Our Raspberry bush is insane! Way too huge! I trimmed it in the Spring but there are tons of smaller ones growing around the edges of the main bush. I want to move them to the fence. I know its not the right time but I want to figure out how many I need, dig them up, put them in containers and store them in the basement so I can cut the rest of them away and leave only the fruiting ones behind. Then after this season I am going to clear out the bush and keep planting them along the fences and in smaller designated areas of the backyard.


Would the canes keep in the cool basement in containers that I water? I have some growing lights so I can set those up but I read somewhere that if you have canes that are not ready to plant yet that you can keep them somewhere cool for a while mimicking cold season.


There is a lot of work to do so I'm hoping I can do it in stages. Dig up the ones I want to keep. Clear the ones I don't. Prep new areas for them and plant them as late in Summer as I can. Or should I cut them down to 6" and leave them where they are and move them in the Fall?


Suggestions greatly appreciated!!!!

Comments (5)

  • 8 years ago

    I think you need to start with an understanding of how raspberriess grow. They don't form a permanent shrub. Those smaller canes growing around the large ones will give you next years fruit. The large ones get cut down. Google primocane and floricane. Raspberries are not like regular shrubs and they are pruned differently. They grow new canes from the ground every year. To know how to deal with them you need to know what type you have. If you have summer fruiting raspberries (floricanes) you cut out all the canes which have fruited and leave all the new unfruited canes behind. They'll fruit next year. If you have autumn fruiting types (primocanes) you cut all the canes to the ground in the early spring.

    Storing canes in the basement under lights is a waste of your time and money and will be deleterious to the canes. Just dig them up and move them when you want to. But water well. If you can't replant them immediately just pot them up and keep the pots in the yard somewhere. What you read about storing canes somewhere refers to dormant, leafless canes, not actively growing ones.

  • 8 years ago

    We have Summer bearing red raspberries. I've just let the canes sprout wherever they wanted and cut down the old ones after they bore fruit. But this year the bush has gotten out of control with new canes invading the middle part of the backyard. Some are up on a small incline we have in the back of our yard and I think they are ok to stay there. But this spot has had Raspberries growing there for probably 5 or more years and I think that they may have sucked up a lot of the nutrients and need a new spot to grow. I'm just unsure of how to organize them. I've dug up and moved runners before but now there are so many I think I'm a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to start tackling them.

  • 8 years ago

    You can see the bush behind the railing and my garden but it goes farther to the left and up the hill.

  • 8 years ago

    So dig out as many unfruited canes as you want to keep and either transplant directly to where you want them or pot them up and put them in an out of the way spot until you can plant them. Definitely don't put them in the basement. To keep them in bounds you could just mow around the patch when you do the lawn. If you are starting a new planting you might find it easier to keep them in bounds if you plant in a row with a post and wire support and keep up the maintenance pruning and training. Commercial growers do replace their canes every few years or so but in a domestic situation I think you can leave them longer. Are they showing signs of deterioration? If you haven't been restricting the number of canes that could be a problem.

    lindavarga20 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
  • 8 years ago

    Thanks, clearing up I see I have a lot of small canes I will dig up and move to a new spot in the backyard. I haven't restricted them really so I want to start in a new spot where I can restrict them and stay on top cuz those buggers like to spread out!