Raspberries from tissue culture?

[Rosalind]

I got my big box o' berries, and everything looks great (asparagus like baby octopi, blueberries taller than my dog, just-moist strawberries attempting to sprout) except for one thing...They didn't have actual raspberry canes of the purple raspberries I ordered. They sent tissue cultures of them, these teeny little plugs of soilless mix with itty-bitty sprouts about the size of my pinky in them.

Anyone ever planted these before? Do they take special care? How long till I get raspberries out of them, two years? Decades?

 

[whatnow?]

I've never purchased raspberry before, so I can't really help too much with planting tips. But, I will say that I am in Zone 6/7, and our red raspberries are fairly indestructible. Generally, I cut mine back to the ground (with a mower) almost every year at the end of the season (I'm not cultivating them, they are in my way) and we still get raspberries off of the new canes. The older root stock grows canes that must by 4-6 feet long every year. If my wife weren't watching, I'd get rid of them, so keep in mind that I may be overly harsh to the plants. (I like the berries, just not the scratches when mowing.)

 

[S0rcy]

Tissue culture raspberries aren't too hard, you can put them directly in the garden as long as there is no risk of frost or trampling. To protect them from possible freeze, place a floating row cover over them until they've got a really good start. Don't feed them heavily when you put them in. Make sure the soil is not hard as a rock, but not overly composted either. Soil should be touching all parts of the plug. They will grow like gangbusters I kid you not and by next season you should have berries off them.

If you are worried about the little guys, they CAN be potted until their root system is well defined. THey don't mind the potting soil for a few weeks.

 

[Rosalind]

OK, I planted them in the orchard soil, which is clay mixed with leafmould and horse poop. Other raspberries have done well enough there. I don't think it is going to freeze at all, it's 80 degrees today and the spot where I put them is quite sheltered.

One year? Really? Wow.