How To Fertilize And Water Raspberry Bush Plants (2024)

FAQs

How To Fertilize And Water Raspberry Bush Plants? ›

Uniformly broadcast the fertilizer in a 2 foot band. If you have just a few plants apply about 2 ounces of 10-10-10 spread uniformly around the plant. If you don't want to use 10-10-10, you can feed raspberry plants with a water-soluble liquid fertilizer such as 20-20-20 or an organic plant food such as 10-2-8.

Apply about two ounces of a 5-10-5 fertilizer around each plant. Starting the second season and annually thereafter, fertilize raspberries in early spring before growth begins. Apply a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10, at a rate of 15 to 20 pounds of fertilizer per 1,000 square feet of planting.

Watering Raspberry Bushes

Water raspberries plants during the day. Give them about 1"-2" per week during growing season and up to 4" per week during harvest. The plants are rather shallow rooted, so moisture needs to be at the surface.

Water raspberry bushes regularly during the summer. Cut back on watering during the winter. Feed raspberry bushes in the spring, through early July. Harvest regularly to keep plants producing.

Any feed designed for use when growing tomatoes is particularly beneficial when growing raspberries in pots. An example is the Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Tomato Plant Food available at Walmart.

As a common household by-product, spent coffee grounds can also be used to fertilise raspberry plants. Providing nitrogen and other trace elements, used coffee grounds can help support vigorous growth, but as they are acidic, only use in moderation and not after September.

Recommended Yara fertilisers for raspberries

12-12-36 + 1% MgO 2.5% SO3 - A water soluble NPK fertiliser for liquid feeding and contains a full range of chelated micronutrients ideal for all fertigation systems.

Raspberries are best grown in moist but well-drained soil. However, excessive overwatering or continued wet weather can lead to yellowing leaves as well.

General Watering Guidelines

It is less wasteful, and you can even use something like a soaker hose to water several raspberry plants at once. If you're in the midst of a “brown-lawn drought”, you still shouldn't water raspberry plants too much or too often. Worse than dry, thirsty roots is waterlogged, drowning roots.

Raspberries need lots of water from spring until after harvest. Because the root system is in the top two feet of soil, watering regularly is better than an occasional deep soaking. Raspberries need 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week from flowering until harvest.

What are the top tips for growing raspberries? ›

For summer-fruiting raspberries, plant canes 40 cm apart; for autumn-fruiting varieties plant each cane 60cm apart. Plant your canes to a depth of 8cm (3in), gently firm them in, and water well. Once planted, cut the canes to 25 cm from the ground to encourage lots of basal shoots.

Simply cut the canes to the ground each year in the late fall or early spring when they are dormant. Use a mower, sharp lopper, or hedge trimmer. New canes will emerge from the ground in the spring. Since the primocanes produce a full crop of fruit, there is no need to keep floricanes.

Pruning raspberries depends on the type you're growing. For summer-bearing raspberries, it takes two years for each cane to produce fruit. Individual canes grow just leaves the first year, produce fruit the second year, and then die.

Verdict: Unless you have a magnesium deficiency in your garden, there is no need to add Epsom salts. Doing so could even be harmful to soil, plants and water.

Raspberry fertilizing needs are very basic and not hard to keep up with. Raspberry plant fertilizer should be heavy in nitrogen, although a balanced type is often preferred. For instance, the best fertilizer for raspberry bushes is a 10-10-10 fertilizer or actual nitrogen at a rate of 4 to 5 pounds (1.8 to 2.3 kg.)

Raspberries should not be planted alongside nightshades like eggplant, potato, or tomatoes, as they are particularly susceptible to blight and verticillium wilt. Avoid planting raspberries near similar crops like boysenberries, blackberries, or gooseberries to prevent the transfer of soil-borne fungal diseases.

Choose a planting site that is in full sun. The plants will grow in part shade, but will not produce as much fruit. Raspberries prefer rich, well-drained soil. A few inches of compost mixed into the soil prior to planting will create a high-quality planting site.

Soil pH in the 5.5 - 6.5 range is ideal for growing raspberries. When soil pH is outside this optimal range and low, lime can be mixed in to raise soil pH. Sulfur is used to lower soil pH. The recommended rate of material should be mixed into the upper 4 to 6 inches of soil.