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Raspberry problem
Dave Brown4
Posts: 2
A couple of my summer-fruiting raspberries, only planted at the beginning of the year, have developed a black growth on the underside of the leaves - photo attached. What is it? What can I do about it?
Thanks, Dave
0
Posts
I think you have rust there. Your shrubs will have been suffering possibly during the spring and summer time, but you had not noticed as the spores are not usually so obvious in colour until the autumn time.
You need to make sure you promptly remove any dead leaves from under your plant and around the soil areas. In the winter time scrape off the top layer of your soil and replace with a new layer.
Sometimes, excessive wet on leaves over long periods and very dense growth between branches or even the whole area can harbour and encourage this to happen. Make sure there is some adequate air-flow, and that could mean pruning/thining out a bit. Only feed the shrub when it is needed because excessive feeding can encourage soft lush growth which makes them more susceptible to this kind infection.
Last edited: 06 November 2017 18:12:48
Thanks very much - I've done most of what you suggested this afternoon and I can see my raspberry patch was very crowded. it has a mixture of summer and mostly autumn varieties so soon I'll be able to prune the autumn ones and greatly improve the air flow. Thanks again - I looked around different web sites for help and yours was the only sensible advice I could find!
Good luck with your shrubs. They are tough and this issue will not hurt them too much, but it is better to grow a much healthier shrub and in return, you have your fruits and you will reduce the chance of it returning next year.
The problem I have had with raspberries is that they find their way into our vegetable plot, the roots even going under the paths, but yes thin out the canes to get good air movement around the canes.