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raspberries
jap
Posts: 6
in Fruit & veg
For the first two years after I planted them, my autumn fruiting raspberries(Polka) flourished and produced loads of fruit. In subsequent fewer and fewer of the canes have grown and produced much fruit. This year (five years since planting them) i expect very few to grow.
The redcurrants growing next to them grow well and produced masses of fruit this year.The row of summer fruiting raspberries have never done well.
Has any one any idea where I have gone wrong. Would I do better to forget growing raspberries there (it is inside a fruit cage)- and try japanese wineberries perhaps?
0
Posts
Yes I cut down the fruited canes every year.
No I am not an experienced gardener but I have grown raspberries before.
Some - but not 6" Does it matter that I put wood ash (from the wood burner) into the home made compost ?
I will be watching this thread with interest - we had our first year of Polkas this autumn and they were fab
. Would like that to continue for a few years yet. So apart from cutting back this year's canes (?? to the ground, or leave a few inches?? - not sure if the new canes sprout from the rootstock, or from the base of the last year stems 
), and adding a good mulch come the spring, is there anything else we should be doing?
never grown any sort of raspberries before
The new canes are not growing.
I will go and have a good look in the morning! Thanks for your help. Would I be mad to buy some more canes and plant them in the same place - after I have improved the soil perhaps?
You could try digging a trench about 12 inches from the stems, and filling it with compost (well composted or fresh). In the back if my mind I have a mental picture of Bob Flowerdew doing that. Have you layered some of the canes in soil in order to root new ones?
I'd be worried about planting new in the same spot, in case it's something sinister. If you do go that route, dig out a good amount of soil first and refresh it with compost mixed with soil from elsewhere in your garden. Try a few different varieties as well, maybe some will do better than others.