When buying a raspberry shrub select it carefully. Several types of raspberries build sprouts, which is the reason why raspberry bushes often start spreading in the garden. This fact caused a bad reputation of the raspberry. Since a few years, there are some types of raspberries, which don’t build sprouts.
Where to place the raspberry bushes plays an important role. If you have planted them wrong a few years ago, this can cause harvest reduction or diseases, no matter how intensive you care for the bush. In such case, you should buy new plants and plant them at another place.
The planting time is autumn. Most suitable are raspberry plants, which are already one year old, because raspberries only bear fruits in the second year. Choose a place that is bright, sunny, wind protected, water-permeable and deep. All these facts influence the success of your harvest. Water the plant root ball a few minutes, before you plant it. Meanwhile you can set a grow-support. Dig a hole, the depth depends on the size of the bush. Place the bush and fill up the hole with soil and compost. If you plant more than one bush, take care of keeping a sufficient space of about 40-50 centimeters between the bushes. Water thoroughly, to encourage the bush roots to grow deeper. In the following year, water only every two weeks, except there are high temperatures.
There was a small crop? This occurs due to a lack of care, because the raspberry is left to its own. It helps to mulch the bush from time to time to keep the ground moist and to fight weed. After the harvest, prune the canes at least once a year. If you have summer raspberries cut the discolored brown shoots and if you have autumn raspberries cut all shoots just above the ground. You can also remove all weak and poor branches. At the end of winter you can apply compost or biological fertilizer and mulch, so that you have a rich carrying bush, from summer to summer.