Raspberry Cane questions

Looby_Lou

I've just got an allotment which has some raspberry canes on it. They were obviously meant to be in a bed with wire supports, but it is full of 2' high grass and most of the canes are dead. Close by there are several young canes.

Could I transplant the young canes into the bed, freeing up space?

I've started to get rid of the grass in the bed and am planning on putting down a mulch to keep weed growth down. Should I also be top feeding the raspberries ? I have no idea whether they are Autumn or Summer fruiting, is there any way to tell before they fruit?

Thank you!

Farway

No real way to tell it summer or autumn until they fruit

However if wire supports were once there I reckon summer ones because they grow taller & autumn ones are OK without support, because they fruit on current year's growth the growth does not get too tall

You can dig up the suckers / runners and put them back. I know this is MSE but why not take the opportunity to perhaps buy new named canes, there are many new varieties around now, larger fruit, tastier etc. Worth looking into, especially as you are going to renovate the bed anyway

Top feeding is generally not required for raspberries, whilst they do not want to starve the natural habitat is woodland or poor scrub

Just dig in old compost, spent mushroom etc when you renovate the bed

A mulch would be ideal

Nightowl

If any of the canes have remains of berries on from last year then you can cut them right down to about two inches form the ground, they have fruited and won't fruit again(this would be necessary whether they are Summer or Autumn canes). Then leave the rest and wait and see. I think you may be surprised how many young canes you will have in their that may fruit this year. I was advised not to dig anything up until I've seen what it can produce.


With summer canes you cut down the canes that have fruited after they've finished and with autumn ones you cut them all down. A passer-by advised me to cut all my summer canes down, glad I knew not to!!