Raspberries - Friend or Foe

Will a raspberry take over your garden like the blackberry does? Since moving into my house a couple of years ago I have had an ongoing battle with blackberries, ivy, and morning glory. But what about raspberries?Ivy grows roots along the stem and that will start a new plant. Blackberries will grow roots when it's cane (the long stem of the plant) touches the ground. Raspberries spread by sending out runners like some bamboo and grasses. But raspberries can be easily contained. You can grow them in a raised bed or surround them with a barrier that is about 8 inches deep. You can use edging material to do that. Two useful sites about growing raspberries are
Al's Garden Center - www.als-gardencenter.com/index.php?cID=666
this is a basic page on fundamentals
Fine gardening - www.finegardening.com/plants/articles/reliable-raspberries.aspx
this page is much more in depth covering trellis, bare root plants, soil and bed prep, even what to do with the fruit such as canning and freezing.
The two categories of raspberries are spring crop (which fruits around June) and everbearing which will produce berries in the summer and into fall until the first frost.

Raspberries like well drained rich soil and some sort of support around 6 feet high.

This year I will be planing a few different types;

Meeker - Is a spring crop. It produces large thimble shaped berries with high sugar content

Willamette - Which originated here in Oregon is also a spring crop. The berries are large, dark, and less sweet than the Meeker, but have a rich flavor

Heritage - They are everbearing. These are sweet and mild flavor.


I don't expect to get any fruit on the spring fruiting berries as they fruit on the 2 year old canes, but i might get a few in the fall off of the everbearing since they can fruit on 1st year canes.

Wish me luck.

What's happening around my garden - AKA first post of 2010

Being an accountant takes up a large portion of my time and energy for the first few months of the year. But after that is over time to garden.

I just put in this wall a couple of weeks ago and smoothed the dirt. These plants will fill in and go over the wall bring mounds of color. We have lithodora, rockfoil, aubrieta, and candytuft. lithodora which is a dark blue/purple, and apparently the hummingbirds like it. I saw one going to town on the little flowers today.

This is Aubrieta
Here is 'purple robe' saxifraga caespitosa (rockfoil)

Here we are at the front of the bed before you get to the wall. We have a coral bark maple and a nice old rhododendron

Still in the front yard you can see that the hosta's are coming up and the ferns are getting bigger. Soon my deciduous native rhododendron will be blooming. That is the shrub to the right of the picture.

Last fall we planted the Brunnera ' looking glass'. it is a perennial forget me not. Very glad to see it came up and is looking so healthy.

A bloom on my magnolia tree.
Here is another plant I put in last fall. This is Daphane 'carol mackie'

The asparagus is now in its second year. I could have ate the ones that were bigger than a pencil. But there were about 4-5 that would have been OK to eat and that isn't enough for a meal, so i am just letting them go. I did put in a second asparagus bed. In this picture you can see the two types i have. Jersery Knight (green) and the Sweet Purple.
Here is a close up of one of the green ones. This one would be too old to eat - the top is no longer tight. I am sure by this point it would be very woody.
One of my columbines is blooming.
This is Spring Bouquet Viburnum. Looking very nice this year.
Some of my tulips - before the big rains of the last day or two knocked all the petals off.
The variety is a Darwin type. they are big and robust each year.
Near the pond some tulips, a winter daphne, a hosta on the left, and a huchera (coral bells) in the front.

The bees have been very active in and around the flowers on my blueberries. I think the flowers are just so cute. The humming birds like them too.
The neighbors lilac sneaks over my fence. I just love the smell.
One of my rhododendrons in the "back 40"
This one can use some pruning - i don't like it when they look like an unnatural ball.
Pulmonarias are probably my favorite shade flower. This variety Pulmonaria 'smokey blue' has pink and blue flowers with spotted leaves. Can't beat that for interesting.
Closeup of the flowers
A meyer lemon i have hanging out on the back porch. i will need to put it in a more permanent pot. They are not hardy here, so when it gets cold - into the garage it goes. I think the flower buds are very attractive.