GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Raspberry questions from a gardening rookie...

26-12-2005, 02:47 PM posted to rec.gardens

In article vgGrf.69417$2k.1717@pd7tw1no,
says...
I have an awesome set of raspberry bushes on my property in Prince George,
British Columbia. The provided a haul of nearly 40 litres last summer.
snip
I'm wondering: can I plant the seeds removed from raspberries for producing
new vines? Any recommendations on how to do so in terms of soil, plant food,
etc?

Sure, but a couple of considerations, and some of it depends on
how hard you want to work at it.

1) It may not be the fastest way to propagate. You can lay the
canes down and bury parts of them and they will root where buried.
Not having a robust root system developed, seedlings will likely
take a couple years longer to fruit. Not that the cane method is
without drawbacks - in some areas there is a virus (rust) that kills
the plant and will spread rapidly through connecting canes. You
could cut the connecting canes and/or transplant, or maybe there is
a spray for it, all of which are extra work.

2) If your berries are selective-bred commercial hybrids, you may
get anything but what you expected from seed. Wild varieties should
breed pretty true, however.

In my experience, they are not very picky about soil - I have to
pull seedlings from the gravel in my driveway every year. In the
wild, propagation is by animal droppings or by simply falling off
the vine if nothing eats them. Of course nothing likes hard clay,
but anything crumbly might work, and I would think they should
absolutely thrive with a bit of compost or manure. They tend to
be shallow-rooted, so you probably don't need to bury the seeds
very much if at all.

My own propagation methods are very much labor un-intensive - I eat
a few as I pick and spit seeds in the direction where I think I would
like to see more berries grow. Maybe throw a whole berry a bit deeper
into the brush here and there as I go. Been doing this way for about
6 years now and it's starting to pay off with better crops the last 2.
But that's just my style - I prefer minimal/sustainable.