[Yorkshire Lass]

I have been gifted some raspberry canes (Octavia) which I believe are summer fruiting variety, (please feel free to correct me if I am wrong).  I have approximately 12 canes in a 1 litre pot. 

When would be the best time to plant the canes as I am worried the ground will be to cold i.e. frozen at the moment.

Also will I get a crop from this variety in 2015 

 

[mumofstig]

Plant them asap - as long as the soil isn't frozen ( a little overnight frost doesn't usually freeze below the surface)

Yes, they are summer fruiting, which are pruned on planting and will grow canes next year to fruit in 2016.

Unless...................they are 'long cane' plants like this, which I doubt.


These would be planted and left unpruned to fruit next year - but they are expensive to buy.

Don't forget to rig up some kind of support for them, 

[Yorkshire Lass]

Thank you I was hoping for home grown raspberries in 2015, looks like I may have to acquire a little bit of patience.
 

[Kristen]

I was hoping for home grown raspberries in 2015, looks like I may have to acquire a little bit of patience.

IMHO Better they establish well in 2015 and build up a good root structure to give you heavier yields & crops thereafter

[mumofstig]

Thank you I was hoping for home grown raspberries in 2015,

Autumn fruiting rasps would do that

[3759allen]

you may get some fruit from them next year, don't expect huge amounts though.

mine produced a small amount of fruit around june and right through til november in their first year. i would take it they won't produce and it's a bonus if you do get a few handfuls.

all i would say is to add some sort of manure to the planting hole and mulch well to give them a good start.

[Yorkshire Lass]

I was hoping for home grown raspberries in 2015, looks like I may have to acquire a little bit of patience.

IMHO Better they establish well in 2015 and build up a good root structure to give you heavier yields & crops thereafter

I know you are right, I just hate paying the shop prices for raspberries that I love  Nevermind the jam I was hoping to make 

Thank you I was hoping for home grown raspberries in 2015,

Autumn fruiting rasps would do that

Now you have got me thinking where can I squeeze in some autumn fruiting ones 

you may get some fruit from them next year, don't expect huge amounts though.

mine produced a small amount of fruit around june and right through til november in their first year. i would take it they won't produce and it's a bonus if you do get a few handfuls.

all i would say is to add some sort of manure to the planting hole and mulch well to give them a good start.

I am a long way down on the waiting list for manure any other suggestions, also what would you recommend for a mulch???

[3759allen]

all i use now is rabbit bedding and muck. rotted down as a manure and fresh as a mulch (i try to spread the fresh stuff out for a week or two to get rid of the ammonia before mulching, especially if using it in the poly tunnel).

worth putting an ad on gumtree, freecycle, etc asking if anyone has and sort of manure. is there anyone local to you that keeps horses, rabbits, chickens, etc? a lot of people end up paying to have it removed, so would be grateful of a regular and reliable collection.


also heard that sheep droppings can be added to soil or compost (ideally from a heap), never tried this though.

[mumofstig]

Have you got any compost in your bin, you could use that as a mulch.

[fatcat1955]

Most important thing to add to the planting hole is Bonemeal aka The Root maker.

[Kristen]

Most important thing to add to the planting hole is Bonemeal aka The Root maker.

Current scientific thinking is that that is a myth ... in particular very important not to add Potash if also adding a Mycorrhizal fungi like Rootgrow as it kills the beneficial fungi.

e.g.:

http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/Bonemeal.pdf

Personally I used to find that using Bonemeal encouraged the foxes to stop by that night and dig them all back up again- I presume they smelled what they thought would be a tasty buried meal

[Yorkshire Lass]

Sometimes too much knowledge is confusing to a beginner like me  as I had added mycorrhizal fungi in the hole with the bare rooted plants and them 10 days later have I added some bonemeal. 

Now I have no idea what benefits my raspberries will have if anything 

Any suggestions please   

[Kristen]

I reckon they will be fine ... planted with nothing they will do OK, just us gardeners like to encourage / force them along a bit / lot!

You could consider giving them "plenty" of bonemeal - that will force the plants to develop roots, which is the old way (scientists now tell us that although using bonemeal works, it is because it forces the plant to make roots and has the detrimental effect of killing off beneficial mycorrhizal fungi - so current thinking is to provide mycorrhizal fungi and nothing else which means that the plant does it naturally, and without being forced (which can lead to other stresses on the plant) ...

... but "Ask two gardeners and get three opinions" also applies

[3759allen]

i tend to go natural for 2 main reasons.

firstly it's cheaper with home made compost, leaf mulch, manure

secondly all chemicals seem to have some sort of detrimental effect. you use one chemical and use more chemicals to counter the undesired effects, and the cycle starts.

[Yorkshire Lass]

Thank you for all the lovely advice, all plants are now mulched, next time it will be with home grown compost i.e. my next project xx