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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

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Original poster

What to do with self-sown raspberry seedlings?

16 replies

PistachioLemon · 01/04/2009 17:55

I've been out and about in the garden and the raspberries are doing really well, but there are a tonne of seedlings around them. As we only have a few raspberry canes (around 6' worth) can I dig them up and extend the row?

Sorry if this is a really stupid question. I've had a quick search online, and all I can find is propogation from the suckers that are thrown up later in the year. The obvious answer is that I should dig up and dispose of the seedlings as they're no good/don't produce fruit or something, hence no mention of them anywhere, but I thought I'd ask on the off-chance that someone would know (and it seems such a waste to get rid of them).

Thanks very much!

OP posts:

kitkatqueen · 01/04/2009 22:08

Hiya, I don't have an absolute definate on this, but in theory they should be fine to extend your row. However you will very probably find that the fruit will be a variation of the original.

That is the way it works with apple trees iyswim, if you want to have more apple trees that are identical u have to take a cutting of the tree - a seed from an apple on the tree will produce a different fruit because it is the next generation - the baby of the apple tree - will not be identical to its parent.

I would use them. I have even been known in my skinter moments to use the moldy strawberries in the punnet to produce new plants rather than binning them!!

Original poster

PistachioLemon · 01/04/2009 22:18

Hi kitkatqueen, thanks so much for the reply.

I hoped someone would say that! I think I would have used them anyway, but was having doubts as my garden isn't that big and so I don't want to waste space on a load of canes that don't produce any berries. I don't mind if they are different - that would be quite exciting actually! Quite a few of my neighbours have raspberries or logan berries so hopefully that is what's happened.

I'll let you know how they develop!

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giantkatestacks · 01/04/2009 22:20

In mine the canes arent doing well but the new ones are - dont know whats gone on there...

kitkatqueen · 01/04/2009 23:07

giant, I don't know masses about raspberries - i'm more of a strawberries and apples girl. With strawberries tho you are supposed to refresh, this might explain your problem.

example:

yr1 buy plant, grows well
yr2 fruits well
yr3 too old

so in yr 1 you nip of the plants that grow off the side and pot them on.

so you get...

yr1 buy plant, grows well----nip off-shoot and pot
yr2 fruits well---off-shoot grows well
yr3 too old---off-shoot fruits well

so each year you take an off shoot from your yr 1 that isn't fruiting well until the following yr.Hope that made sense!!

Not sure if similar with raspberries or not, but i'm sure someone here will know!

kitkatqueen · 01/04/2009 23:10

pistachio, please do let me know how they do! Am now thinking i should budge a few things up to make way for some raspberries!

Original poster

PistachioLemon · 01/04/2009 23:47

I'll let you know kitkatqueen.

These canes have been in for three years now - the first year there was nothing (not supposed to be I think), last year there were quite a few and this year they seem to be doing brilliantly with loads of leaves coming through on the canes. The raspberries that we got last year were so much better than the supermarket ones that I would love to have more - definitely worth making room for I think!

I'm no expert as these are the first canes I've ever had, but I did read that you need to prune them properly. So far it seems pretty easy - once they've finished fruiting, cut the canes that have fruited down to the ground and tie in the new shoots that have grown from the base of the plant. Each year, the berries grow from the canes that popped up the previous year (iyswim) so if you cut those down by mistake and leave the ones that have already fruited you won't get anything the following year. Could that have happened on your canes giant?

OP posts:

Twinklemegan · 01/04/2009 23:50

Give em to me

(except I've no garden to plant them in )

Original poster

PistachioLemon · 01/04/2009 23:58

You're more than welcome to some - there's proably more than I can use. You could get an allotment and then there'd be lots of space!

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Twinklemegan · 02/04/2009 00:03

Not likely up here unfortunately. We do have a garden, it's just it's a reed-filled bog with no access from the house. Goodness knows when we'll have the cash to get it sorted.

Original poster

PistachioLemon · 02/04/2009 00:05

Aww - sorry to hear that. A reed filled bog with no access from the house sounds quite challenging Bog garden instead? Although I'm not sure you can get bog raspberries!

OP posts:

kitkatqueen · 02/04/2009 00:09

A load of ancient but well used allotments round my way were suddenly given standpipes last year, the tenants had managed for years without water and last year had a really brilliant load of produce, turns out this year that now theres water at the site the council are going to build housing on them.

guess they were better off without the water hey??

Original poster

PistachioLemon · 02/04/2009 00:15

Oh God, really? That's disgusting! Are they not protected or something? Probably not.

OP posts:

kitkatqueen · 02/04/2009 00:18

nope - the petitions have been run the fight fought - they lost.

refusingtobeshy · 02/04/2009 00:20

They aren't seedlings, they are new canes coming up from the roots and should be true to variety. Pull them up, try to get some root to come with them, and plant them wherever. Remember to water them, and you should be fine.

giantkatestacks · 02/04/2009 08:13

Doesnt it depend on whether you've got a grow on last years canes variety or a new cane every year one? mine are new every year because I find that easier...

Original poster

PistachioLemon · 02/04/2009 08:52

Hi Refusingtobeshy, these are definitely seedlings, not new canes from roots, I dug a few up yesterday to check!

Morning Giant, I'm sorry, I'd forgotten there are autumn fruiting raspberries too and that those do get cut completely down to the ground every year. In which case, I've no idea what the problem could be. Sorry!

rhs advice on pruning

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