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.