Fruit Bushes - how hard it is to grow raspberries?

Hi does anyone know how hard it is to grow raspberries , are thy invasive? I love them but I don't know anything about them, Do they have a simple blackberry bush or do all of them take over everything I don't know.

Thank you Margie


moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic

 

I've never tried growing them, mainly because of their invasive nature. It seems to me that raspberries must be something of the simplest berry possible to grow. We've got wild raspberries around here, and they grow on rocks, in between large boulders, in the forest, by the marsh, in the marsh, just about everywhere there's room for them. That said, I guess there are less invasive cultivars but have never looked into it.

If I ever decide to grow them I'll plant them in huge tubs.

(My neighbour wanted to grow raspberries in a corner of her garden, and I wished her luck, and also asked her kindly to keep an eye out for runners going our way. She looked at me solemnly and asked if they weren't going to stop by the fence anyway. I excused myself quickly, hurried inside and broke down laughing in the bathroom.)

 

My experience with raspberries is from client's and neighbor's plants. If you like raspberries, I would say they are worth a go... but you do have to pay attention to them to grow them at their best.
My neighbor's plants are close to my driveway, and the people are more than happy to let me deal with them... the kids on the block love to come pick and eat I think they are rather "spready" and I don't really like the plants because of the stickery stems. They are always popping up in my grass, but I just cut em away..I have cut the plants down to the ground, both in the fall and in spring... they haven't seemed to mind which...They are not really all that attractive as far as plants go. Thats my opinion!

 

I agree with everything said before.

I grow Glen Ample Raspberries on my allotment in a fruit cage. I have to cage the fruit as the small birds scoff every berry just as they start to colour up. They are invasive, shallow rooted, but of course, on the allotment, this doesn't prove a problem. I just dig up the plants in the wrong place and either plug gaps in the cage, or else give them to allotment neighbours.

They are not attractive plants at all, but the fruits are my most favourite of all the berries and I would have them over strawbs anyday of the week.

Some people train them up stiff wires, I don't bother. I have better things to do with my gardening time that train and tie the canes in, so mine grow up, and I have more fruit than I can deal with.

They like dappled shade, they are really an edge of woodland plant. Mine grow on the edge of my apple trees and they thrive. They are very shallow rooted so it is tricky to weed around them once established.

Summer fruiting rasps, the old canes which bore fruit are cut down in autumn, leaving the new ones for the next year. Autumn fruiting rasps, all canes are cut down to the ground after fruiting. The birds seem to leave the autumn ones alone on our site, the theory being there are plenty of berries around in early autumn so the birds aren't tempted but the rasps.

I wouldn't be without them, for eating fresh, freezing, making jams and jellies, eating fresh and so on. Heaven in a berry.

 

I used to grow raspberries that weren't prickly and were everbearing (two heavy flushes during the summer). Raspberries needed to have the old canes removed, and were shallow rooted enough to be easily moved, or pulled. You need the new canes for fruiting as I recall.

I didn't know they were invasive, but I guess it was because of the variety of raspberry that I had. Look for an everbearing with no stickies. Sorry I can't remember the variety. It was nice having berries most of the spring and summer.

 

I agree with Jewel. I've never known our raspberries to be invasive. I kind of wish they were and would take over because I really love those berries. Maybe they're less invasive on the west coast??? I bought a few everbearing raspberries last fall to add to my yard. Blackberries are another story and they are invasive. I don't mind them but my husband would wage war on them if they dared poked up anywhere in our yard.

 

Yes Whistler, I agree. The Himalayan blackberries are so good to eat, but soooooo invasive, and I'd swear they attack with those huge viny, nasty, thorny twenty foot long canes. Even worse if they have the morning glory (vine weed) growing in it.

Did a quick Google and discovered that the American raspberry and European raspberry are two different subspecies.

"Red Raspberry - R. idaeus L. The European subspecies of this group is designated R. idaeus subsp. vulgatus Arrhen., whereas the North American red raspberry is termed R. idaeus subsp. strigosus Michx., or more simply R. idaeus (European) and R. strigosus (North American)."

The raspberry canes for the plants that we have around here have upright growth with a maximum height of 7 feet. Not terribly vigorous if not maintained.

 

I planted a raspberry plant in my yard once. It promptly died. But, undaunted, I just ordered two more. I'm going to plant them in a different place this time, one with full sun.

 

I enjoyed reading this post. I have always wanted to try a raspberry bush or two...there is a lot of good information here. Thanks.

 

I was thinking about all the raspberries I've been aquainted with, and realize that they all have something in common. The ones that seem to be the happiest are under pine trees... Hmmm Not in deep shade though, they do get sun at some part of the day.
I've never really cared that much about the prickly things (sorry raspberry fans) But maybe they prefer acidic soil??

 

I've never purposely grown raspberries but my last house has wild blackberries all over the property and they were quite invasive, they had grown a good deal into my veggie garden and were very hard to remove because they were growing in from under the soil and seemed to sprout up ten times for every root i dug out.
I love raspberries though and wasn't too upset to share the space with them.

 

I have never grown raspberries,,like Droopy said, they are everywhere here. It should be the nation weed of Norway. If you want raspberries here,,just go anywhere you see a few other weeds sticking out and guarateed there will be raspberry in with it. I love to eat them tho!

 

We got an advertisement yesterday for a Canby Thornless raspberry that grows four to six feet tall. I don't know about invasive though. They were three for eight ninty-nine.
dooley