Spring is the best time to transplant raspberries, but transplanting can also be done in the fall to a lesser degree of success, depending on your climate. Know that plants that are transplanted in the fall may take longer to become established and bear fruit. Leave as much dirt on the roots as possible to avoid shocking the plant. After transplanting, cut the canes down to a length of approximately 8 to 10 inches. You may want to put down a layer (1–2 inches) of mulch around the plants to give them some extra winter protection, too. 

Your other option is to store them bare-root for the winter, though we can’t say for certain how much success you would see using this method. You will want to dig them up, brush off any dirt from the roots, and place them in a slightly moist, loose material, such as mulch or sawdust. Store them in a cool place, like a cellar, where it won’t get below freezing nor above 50°F. Try not to let them dry out completely during winter. In early spring, they can be planted outside. 

If you have a large number of plants, you may wish to try both methods. Let us know how it goes!

Hi Tracy,

Congratulations on your new house! It wouldn’t hurt to mound straw, mulch, or compost around the base of the plant. However, it may be going through it’s natural life cycle: Raspberry plants are biennials. Raspberry plants grow in long canes, growing during the first year and producing fruit during the second. After the two years, they die, leaving their seeded fruit or runners to continue the cycle. Your plant may be in its second year of life. 

Unfortunately, your symptoms sound like a textbook case of Verticillium wilt—a soil-borne fungal infection that causes leaf drop, stem death, and sub-par fruiting in a great number of fruits and vegetables. Sadly, nothing can be done for an infected plant, and Verticillium wilt is capable of remaining in the soil for many years, so we would recommend planting any new raspberry plants as far as possible from the diseased patch.

When you remove the infected plant, consider replacing it with Verticillium-resistant plants, like irises, lilies, carrots, beans, or lettuce. A number of other common vegetables and flowers are also resistant.

Hi, Lee: Thank you for this question and your detailed description, including history. It seems as though one of two things is happening here, or perhaps both. We don’t know the condition of your canes, but your description of the leaves can indicate a disease or infestation of some sort. Assuming that you’re not noticing any insect pests, this would leave fungi and all manner of soilborne afflictions, of which there are many. Perhaps–by coincidence–your straw left something behind. More likely, though–and here’s #2–your canes simply became too wet, a condition that itself encourages fungi and that is encouraged by the wood chips, which act like a sponge. If it were us, we would do three things: (1) pull out and dispose of the wood chips, to get rid of both the sponge and any bad things in them; (2) try to find an organic fungicide that is safe for edible produce; and (3) contact your local USDA county extension service to see if they have more localized advice. We would also add a fourth–making sure that your soil drainage is OK–but your previous success with these plants would seem to indicate that this is not a problem. Just for the record, we have had two large and prolific patches at some distance from each other for decades and have never used mulch on them. Thanks again, and good luck!

Lucky you! Freeze them this way: Put a single layer on a sheet pan. Put that into the freezer. When the raspberries are frozen transfer them to an airtight container or bag and return them to the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Repeat as needed with each harvest. They may clump a bit over time but they should not get mushy until thawed but even then some will retain some shape. Frozen or fresh, you can cook them up; here are are few recipes (including one with a sauce you can make and freeze): http://www.almanac.com/search/site/raspberries

If none of these ideas catch your fancy, call us and we’ll take bushels of those berries off your hands!

Small berries can be a result of unsatisfactory growing conditions, like too little sunlight, too little water, or too much nitrogen in the soil, as well as other factors, like too little pollination or infection by damaging insects and viruses. It could also be the case that your raspberry plants need more pruning (see above for tips). Make sure they’re getting enough water, sun, and low-nitrogen fertilizer. If that doesn’t help in future seasons, you may need to get some new plants.

Hi Eileen,

It is not necessary to remove the old canes; they will not prevent new shoots from sprouting. If you prefer a cleaner garden look, you may wish to remove the old growth, but there is no reason to otherwise.

‘Heritage’ raspberries are the everbearing, or fall-bearing, type, meaning that they will produce berries on the old canes (called floricanes) in early summer, and you will get a second crop, this time from the new canes (called primocanes), in late summer/fall. So, a cane of this variety will produce fruit in late summer/fall of its first year, and then again in early summer of its second year. However, the second year crop is not as good in quality as the fall crop from the previous year, and produces less; it also is more prone to certain raspberry pests. Therefore, many gardeners simply prune out the second-year canes during the dormant season in winter/early spring, in order to have a better quality, larger yield in fall. If, however, you choose to harvest that second year, then leave those canes to produce your early summer crop. (Some gardeners trim the laterals of the second-year canes back a few inches.) New canes will also be developing in spring; select about 5 or so of the best ones and remove the others: these will produce your fall crop.

Note that the first year, the canes will fruit on the upper half, while the next year, they will fruit on the lower part; the upper part of the cane that has fruited will die back. Therefore, some gardeners trim back the deadened tips of those canes during the winter, before the second crop is produced the next growing season. Also note that plants should not be pruned the first year you place them in the garden, except to take out dead or damaged wood, so that they can focus on establishing themselves.

As to how far down to prune a cane once it has done fruiting, cut back to as close to the ground as possible, so that any buds that break will be from below the soil line. Otherwise, if buds break from the portion above the soil, the canes that result are usually weak and unproductive.

Before planting, working lots of organic matter into the soil, such as composted manure. Then each year in early spring before growth starts, apply fertilizer again. What you need will depend somewhat on your soil, as well as your crop. It helps to test your soil first to see if there are any deficiencies. In general for raspberries, you can apply 50 to 100 pounds well-rotted cow or horse manure or something like 4 to 5 pounds 10-10-10 per 100 foot row.

Hope this helps!

Hi, Ray: You don’t say how old this growth was, but sometimes new growth can be killed by cold. More likely than not, though, your canes became diseased last year and died for that reason. Thanks for asking and sorry for your loss.