Planting Guide

Berries

Different Types of Berries

Raspberries and Blackberries are closely related and have similar growing requirements. Raspberries are more cold tolerant, and the fruit pulls free of the core, or receptacle, making it look hollow. Blackberries are less cold hardy (though they do fine in the Grand Valley), they tend to develop into larger plants, and the receptacle detaches when the fruit is picked. Red and Yellow Raspberries are erect growing plants and may not need support. Black and Purple Raspberries are trailing and require trellising. Most Blackberries are erect growing and may not need support, however, because of their size, trellising is usually recommended to fit them into most backyard situations. Boysenberries are trailing and require trellising.

Single Crop vs. Two Crop Varieties

Most berries bear fruit on one-year-old canes. The first year, the cane sprouts from the ground and only grows foliage. After overwintering, the cane sets small lateral branches that bear the flowers and fruit. These single crop varieties usually ripen in June or July. There are varieties of Red and Yellow Raspberries that will flower and bear fruit the first year. These are called Everbearing, Fallbearing, or Two Crop Varieties. They bear a crop the first year in September, then a second crop the next year in June or July.

Planting

Dig a hole at least twice as wide and only as deep as the rootball of the plant. Adjust the hole so that the top of the rootball is about 1" above ground level. Remove the plant from the container by turning the plant upside down and gently easing it out and set it in the hole. Refill the hole with a blended mixture of 1/3 Sunshine Peat Moss or Soil Pep and 2/3 of your garden soil. The use of Fertilome Root Stimulator at planting time will greatly reduce transplant shock and help the plant resume normal growth more quickly. Raspberries are planted one to three feet apart, Blackberries four to six feet apart. Never plant Black Raspberries within 700 feet of Red Raspberries. Black Raspberries are susceptible to virus diseases carried by the reds.

Feeding

Feed your berries during the growing season with Bookcliff Gardens Choice Professional Turf Food. Do the first application the end of April, and do a second one in mid June. Sprinkle the recommended amount around the plant and immediately water it in well.

Watering

It is impossible to give a watering schedule that will be right for everyone all of the time. Factors such as the soil type, how big the plant is, how fast the plant is growing, air temperature, humidity, wind and light intensity all will affect how often a particular plant will need watering. The basic rule of thumb is to water deeply, but infrequently. Get the water down a minimum of 18" at each watering. This encourages the plant to develop a deep, drought tolerant root system. Then give the soil a chance to dry slightly between waterings. It is common for people to kill or unnecessarily stress their plants by watering too frequently. The roots of a plant require oxygen in order to function. If the soil is constantly waterlogged, there is not enough oxygen available to the root system and the roots suffocate and begin to die. Knowing this, our recommendation is to water deeply and thoroughly when you do water, then don't water the plant again until the soil near the plant begins to dry. Don't just look at the soil surface; dig down 4" to 6" to see how dry the soil is. The soil should be showing some significant drying down at that depth. One little trick is to scoop up a handful of soil from that depth and squeeze it into a ball. If the ball holds its shape after you let go, the soil is still wet. If the ball falls apart, its time to water. Using this method several times, you will be able to determine your own watering schedule. In addition, during the winter a monthly deep soaking of all newly planted berries is a good idea. This should be done for the first two winters after planting or if we have a particularly warm, dry period.

Pruning and Trellising

For Single Crop Raspberries and Blackberries, the cane will usually die after bearing fruit the second year. It should be removed at ground level after harvest, leaving the one-year-old canes to produce fruit the following year. These new canes can be tied to a single wire set about 3 ½ feet high, contained between two wires set about 3.5 feet high, or attached to a fence. Two Crop Raspberries can be pruned the same way, resulting in two crops each year. After the first crop is harvested in September, cut back the portion of the cane that fruited, the lower portion of the cane will fruit the following summer. However, many people simplify pruning by mowing down the entire plant late in the fall after that year's crop is harvested. This results in one crop each year in September, and the plant will often support itself without trellising.

1.

Last year's growth is blooming and bearing fruit as new shoots emerge from the crown. Remove all but five of the new shoots. Let them continue to grow on the ground.

 

 

2.

After harvest in June or July, cut all of the bearing canes to the ground and tie the five new canes to the wire.

 

 

3.

Head back the new canes at a point a few inches above the wire to encourage lateral growth along the wire.

 

 

4.

In November, cut the laterals back to 18". They will bear the next summer and continue the cycle.

 

 

Our Guarantee

Thanks for buying a plant from Bookcliff Gardens. Our goal is that you be successful with every plant you purchase from us. We'll try to give you as much information and instruction as it takes to make this happen. If you have any questions, please ask! We'll do our best to answer them. However, since this is not a perfect world, and in spite of the best of both of our efforts, plants sometimes die. If this happens within the first year after buying the plant from us, we will replace it; give you an equal amount of credit; or refund your money if you have your receipt. We limit our guarantee to replacing a plant only once, and the guarantee does not apply to annual bedding plants or house plants. If you're having a problem with a plant, come in and talk to us about it; we'll try to find out what happened so we won't lose another plant. It's in both of our interests that the plants you buy from us grow and thrive. We want you to be successful!

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Bookcliff Gardens
(970) 242-7766
755 26 Road (North 1st at I-70) • Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
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