How to Plant Bare Root Raspberries

Overview

Home-grown and cultivated raspberries are a treat. The bare root raspberry plants are dormant and may even have an appearance of a dead stick with roots. Both summer-bearing and ever-bearing varieties exist, and the plants are biennial, which means they will flower and bear fruit the second year after they are planted. Some ever-bearing raspberries may produce at the end of the summer of the first year of growth.

Step 1

Inspect the roots of the raspberry plant. Remove any broken or damaged roots by pruning them, which will prevent disease in your raspberry bed.

Step 2

Soak the roots for a few hours in room-temperature water if they are dry.

Step 3

Dig holes two to three feet apart in a tilled and fertilized row of good garden soil. The hole must be the width of the spread-out root system plus half that width again. For example, if a plant has roots that spread out in an 8-inch width, you must dig a 12 inch wide hole. The holes should be 5 to 6 inches deep unless otherwise printed on an included instruction sheet from the plant nursery.

Step 4

Hold the raspberry root system and spread it over the center of the hole. Carefully fill the hole in with soil around the spread-out roots. Continue planting the row of bare roots into the holes.