Pacific Northwest Garden Forum: Mixed raspberry planting advice

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   My hippy farmer friend gave me some left-over raspberry plants after he planted a field of them for his u-pick. I didn't realize they were summer and fall bearing cultivars and I mixed them together when I planted them last year. Should I treat them all as fall-bearing and cut them to the ground? Or would I be better off getting rid of them and starting over? 

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HarleyLady Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Willamette Valley Posts: 945	Topic: Mixed raspberry planting advice Posted: Nov-12-2009 at 9:32pm
	My hippy farmer friend gave me some left-over raspberry plants after he planted a field of them for his u-pick. I didn't realize they were summer and fall bearing cultivars and I mixed them together when I planted them last year. Should I treat them all as fall-bearing and cut them to the ground? Or would I be better off getting rid of them and starting over?
	HarleyLady

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gary Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-26-2003 Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor Posts: 970	Posted: Nov-13-2009 at 4:15am
	I'd try to identify them (thru another season?) and proceed from there. I am assuming that you are not talking about lots of plants but that would also mean that the replacement cost is high.
	Gary Olympia Sunset Zone 5, USDA Zone 8
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HarleyLady Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Willamette Valley Posts: 945	Posted: Nov-14-2009 at 2:59pm
	Gary, as always, thanks for your quick reply. I have them down two sides of a 8' raised bed, so about 16 row feet of plants. I really need specific instructions as I've always had trouble keeping straight the pruning requirements of the two and have to keep going back to the book to get it straight in my head. And I won't even talk here about the effects of mentalpause on this woman's brain. Should I tie one color tape around the canes that fruit in summer and then a different color on those that fruit in fall and then separate them out after the fall fruiting? If I do it this way is it better to move the fall bearers or summer or does it matter at all? Also, when I was cleaning up the bed a little after a recent wind storm, I cut out some old and rather woody looking canes and some that had been broken. Now, if those were summer fruiting, will they not fruit at all next year since my understanding is that summer fruiting is on old wood? Arrggh....I dunno how much raspberry plants cost but it's tempting to take the simpler route and shovel prune them all. Edited by HarleyLady - Nov-14-2009 at 3:02pm
	HarleyLady
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gary Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-26-2003 Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor Posts: 970	Posted: Nov-15-2009 at 2:36am
	Sheila, As always a google of, Raspberries in Oregon, gives a link to OSU's tremendous library of extension publications like: "Growing Raspberries in Your Home Garden" The pruning info begins on page seven. I would first get them identified for sure next year. Once you know what is where, draw a quick map, and then you can decide your best approach. The pruning techniques seem to be different enough that you may be able to identify the plants when dormant and save yourself the work and risk of moving them. OSU's pamphlet mentions Caroline as a good ever-bearing variety but not Tulameen as a summer variety. As I have mentioned before here, my mother's childhood neighbor, George Richter of Fife, used these two varieties as his main crops. Here is a link again to the Seattle Times article from 2004 about George: "Fife Farmer Finds Sweet Success" George had a large customer list such as: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once had a flat of Richter's raspberries accompany her home after eating them during an international summit in Houston. Edited by gary - Nov-15-2009 at 2:40am
	Gary Olympia Sunset Zone 5, USDA Zone 8
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HarleyLady Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Willamette Valley Posts: 945	Posted: Nov-15-2009 at 10:51am
	Thanks Gary...I refer to the OSU pubs frequently. I'm pretty sure some of my plants are Tulameen. Guess I'm going to have to be patient and methodical in sorting them out--neither of which are my strong points. Don't know why I'm finding this so frustrating and having such a hard time wrapping my mind around it. Edited by HarleyLady - Nov-15-2009 at 10:57am
	HarleyLady
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gary Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-26-2003 Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor Posts: 970	Posted: Nov-16-2009 at 5:08am
	Just relish with the thought that you have some high quality fresh eating berry plants. One of Tulameen other attributes is that it provides a harvest of 50 days or so. And yours will be a lot less expensive than those Ms. Thatcher took home.
	Gary Olympia Sunset Zone 5, USDA Zone 8
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gary Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-26-2003 Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor Posts: 970	Posted: Today at 4:10am
	Sheila, In his Sea Times column yesterday, Cisco Morris recommends foregoing the spring harvest on the everbearing berries. This simplifies the pruning to just the fall. You can read it at: "Maintain Everbearing Raspberries" This seems to me that you cut ALL old canes each fall. Your Tulameen already has new canes in the fall and the everbearing plants will grow them next season for your fall harvest. That also seems there is no need to move any plants on a small planting like yours.
	Gary Olympia Sunset Zone 5, USDA Zone 8
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HarleyLady Rainy Side Gardener Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Willamette Valley Posts: 945	Posted: Today at 8:30am
	Thanks Gary, the solution to all my angst: "The best of all worlds is to plant a summer fruiting variety along with your everbearing one" So, it appears I can just cut all canes to the ground now (except new shoots) and will just sacrifice a small spring harvest from the everbearing but still have berries for summer and into fall. Losing a small spring harvest seems worth the trade-off of the extra work involved otherwise in either moving the plants or having to do two prunings after I identify which plants are which.
	HarleyLady
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