Raspberry canes

[zan]

hiya
I bought a raspberry plant from tesco last year and it did pretty well all through the summer, with a few berries and a lot of growth. I love raspberries, but I also believed that the plants were pretty indestructible, which was a big incentive in getting one. It lives in a pot on my balcony and gets minimal attention except the odd bit of water if the weather's been dry for a long time. Anyway, over the last couple of months it looks like it's died... Is this normal winter 'behaviour' or have I managed to kill it off?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Zan

[ericrovve]

I would have thought they needed deeper rooting than found in a pot; but it's perfectly normal for last years stems to die off. It fruits on new year growth.

[Seajay]

What variety is it Zan? It is important for how you prune it and I doubt very much that it is dead. Even if the canes are dead it will most certainly shoot from the soil again unless there is no drainage in the pot?
Yes Zan, they are pretty much indestructable but only when planted in the ground. Any plant can quickly come under stress in a pot from lack of or too much water. Raspberries love moisture but need excellent drainage.

Scratch the cane with your finger nail. Is it green under the bark? If it isn't break the cane. You'll tell by the feel as you snap it if the cane is dead. If all the canes are dead it does not necessarily mean the plant is dead. The roots could be alive and shoots will grow from below soil level.

I suspect you have an Autumn fruiting variety in which case it should have all of the canes cut back in Winter. It then makes new canes and flowers and fruits at the back end of the year.

If a Summer fruiter it will have two sorts of canes. Ones from the previous year on which it flowers and fruits and new growing canes for the following year. The ones that have fruited are again cut to soil level and the new growing canes left to fruit the next year - a continuous cycle.

They are one of the most productive fruits growing and I loive 'em! Berries are always so plentiful there is food for the family and the birds and animals and still some left over. You need more pots Zan

Colin

[zan]

haha!

Cheers Colin glad it's probably not dead. I've been holding off chucking it because I've been caught out in the past by plants pretending to be dead when they weren't... Mischevious things so they are. I am no good *at all* with plants, can you tell?

I shall have a prune at it later on today if it looks like it needs it, and will check the drainage in the pot. Can't imagine my partner being too impressed if I start buying bigger and bigger pots for it (he doesn't like raspberries, so it only taks up space as far as he's concerned), but i'll try and sneak them in

Thanks!
Zan

[Paul mabbott]

Who could not like raspberries? Trade him in ...
As everyone else has said, the canes become woody and die off in the autumn. Pruning should be done after fruiting - some years you get a second crop. They don't need particularly deep soil but they do need space so I'm not sure that a pot is going to be sufficient in the long term. Let it free!

PS: they also need a lot of nitrogen so give it a good dose of fertiliser at the end of the month.

Originally Posted by zan

Cheers Colin glad it's probably not dead. I've been holding off chucking it because I've been caught out in the past by plants pretending to be dead when they weren't... Mischevious things so they are. I am no good *at all* with plants, can you tell?

I shall have a prune at it later on today if it looks like it needs it, and will check the drainage in the pot. Can't imagine my partner being too impressed if I start buying bigger and bigger pots for it (he doesn't like raspberries, so it only taks up space as far as he's concerned), but i'll try and sneak them in

Thanks!
Zan

[zan]

yeah, I can't set it free I'm afraid, I live in a second floor flat or else I'd happily have a garden of the things! I'll see if I can find a bigger pot though and let it do its own thing as far as possible.

Cheers