Raspberry/blackberry bushes

[i_am2bz]

I'm not sure of the technical name for this berry; growing up, when they were still red we called them raspberries & when they turned dark purple we called them "black raspberries" altho I understand people also call them blackberries. They're the little knobbly berries with the thorny bushes.

Any-hoo...we have a bunch of them growing wild under our deck & along the fence line. I tried some for the first time this week - delish! A little sour, but very juicy & quite tasty.

What is the best way to transplant them to a more useable area? (I can only get to the branches that either come thru the fence or poke out from underneath the deck.) Is there a way to cut off a branch & start roots? Or would I have to dig up the whole bush?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Blackberries and raspberies are different and there are different types of each. They may be black or red raspberries or they may be one of many different members of the blackberry family, such as the dewberry. Most, but not all, of them do not bear on the first year''s growth, but bear on the second year growth. So if you transplant them, you will probably not get any fruit off them the first year. Fortunately, the way to transplant them all is the same.

You can try at any time, but the best way is to wait until they go dormant. The two times I tried when they were not dormant, I was not successful. That means they died. Before they start to grow in the spring, probably January-February for me, dig up a portion of the root. You don't have to have a portion of any stalk stidking up, but that is usually a good idea so you know where it is. That portion of stalk may sprout or it may not. The roots should send up new sprouts when they break dormancy.

You can get bigger and longer if you wish, but what you are looking for is a section of root about the diameter of an old fashioned lead pencil and say 6" long. Bury that in a trench about 2 to 3 inches deep. You don't need to keep it soaking wet, but never let it really dry out until it is established. When I set mine out, I watered once and that was enough. Since they are so shallow when you plant them, they can dry out some places. Last summer it got so dry here that even my established plants suffered and I lost some raspberry bushes.

 

[wsmoak]

I'm not sure of the technical name for this berry; growing up, when they were still red we called them raspberries & when they turned dark purple we called them "black raspberries" altho I understand people also call them blackberries.

When you pick the berries, are they hollow, or do they have a core?

-Wendy

 

[i_am2bz]

When you pick the berries, are they hollow, or do they have a core?

-Wendy

They DON'T appear to be hollow (the 8-9 black ones I've picked, anyway).