Bought raspberry plant from Wilko....

heynonnynonny

I did just that and am really really struggling with finding info on it, have googled it but still not a clue on how to care for it or anything given that I do not know what strain it is. It's a fairly big wood stem and has 2 slightly prickly side shoots, 1 coming off the woody stem and one coming from the base of the plant and is thriving. Can anyone help me find me a simple how to guide?? Have planted it in a 36cm diameter pot.

WestonDave

The only really important thing you need to know is whether its autumn fruiting or summer fruiting - you'll obviously find that out when the fruit arrives. That determines how and when you prune it, other than that they are pretty much alike.

However they all grow fairly tall and will need some form of support so you need to put your pot near something you can tie the stalks to when they grow. You may not get much growth this year, but mine which are about to come into their third season are up to 7ft tall!

Keep it well fed - I dump a good load of chicken manure pellets around the base of mine each spring. As they are in pots you'll need to keep them well watered in dry spells as fruit production takes a lot of water.

Kay_Peel

I bought raspberry canes from Wilkos two years ago and have been delighted with the fruit. If its the same variety then it fruited from August to November.

The canes (new shoots appearing from the woody stem) will grow very very tall. You'll also find that suckers will appear in the soil around the plant in the next few weeks. These will be more new shoots.

Here's what I did (after speaking to an allotment raspberry grower):

Dig a big hole near a sunny fence. Fill with multi-purpose compost and some slow release fertiliser 'bullets'. Meanwhile soak the roots of the raspberry in a bucket of water.

Attach some strong wire to the fence. As the canes grow, tie them onto the wire with soft string.

Plant the raspberry into the compost-rich hole and scatter the slow release fertiliser. Firm it in and water it.

Put a layer of leaves, compost and any other mulching material around the plant. This will stop any weeds growing near the raspberry and robbing it of food and water.

Tie in the new shoots as soon as they are long enough. Pull up any more suckers that appear and put them in a small pot. (These are free plants that you can give away or keep) If you don't control the raspberry it becomes a thug and will take over the garden - putting up shoots indiscriminately, with 7 feet long thorny canes wavering about.

When the flowers start to turn to fruit, put a bird scarer nearby - or they'll have all those lovely little raspberries. I use a child's windmill made of foil. I stick it in the ground and they don't go near the bed.

Pick 'em.

Enjoy!

rosie383

You say to pull up any new suckers and put them in pots to give away. I would love to do that as the canes I planted last year have lots of suckers coming up all around them.
How do I get them out without damaging the parent plants?
If I pull them up will I get some with roots that I can plant? Or dig them up and try to separate the roots?

RAS

rosie

how close are the suckers to the existing fruiting stem?

rosie383

They are all around them in an area about 1' square around the parent plants. I tried just pulling one of the wee ones up, but it didn't want to come easily, so I stopped.

heynonnynonny

Thanks all. £3 for a fruit plant, and if yours has been so good from wilko I have hope!!!!

Kay_Peel

rosie383 wrote: »

You say to pull up any new suckers and put them in pots to give away. I would love to do that as the canes I planted last year have lots of suckers coming up all around them.
How do I get them out without damaging the parent plants?
If I pull them up will I get some with roots that I can plant? Or dig them up and try to separate the roots?

You dig into the soil around the sucker until you can see some roots and a stem that leads back to the parent plant. I cut the stem (to separate it from the parent) and then lift the sucker and its roots. I put it into a pot.

Believe me, the suckers and the parent are strong beggars and won't be cowed by this treatment. I've even ripped suckers straight out of the soil when they were tall enough and they have come out with a good root system - and I've just re-planted them elsewhere.

Good luck!