Raspberries: is this the right forum?

Living on mountain land leaves little room for gardening but we recently had some trees cut and we are terracing areas. One area is designated for raspberries but i don't know the best ones to buy. Of course, I want them to be heavy bearers; I have even heard of some that bear twice a year. I am in zone 6b-7a and it's fairly rainy here, however, wild ones thrive here. I have heard of Heritage and would like to know the pros and cons of that one and any other favorites that would work in my area.

I'm trying red raspberries for the first time this year(Ihope). We've had black raspberries for several years. I have no idea which cultivar because they were given to me. Have you thought of domestic blackberries? We raise those too. Huge things. No cultivar name again. Just remember that raspberries and blackberries are suppose to be kept a good distance from each other. It has to do with a virus that attacks each other.

Woodspirit1-- I'll bet strawberries would grow beautifully in the same area. You could check the internet for your State Agricultural Dept. They most likely have a list of berries to grow in your area and then just type the name of the berries you want on the internet and you will be all set. It gets to hot here for most berries except for four or five varities of strawberry of which I chose "Sweet Charlie" recommended by my state "Aggies". I have learned, the hard way,to check with them first, thus saving time,labor and money..

Not familiar with many raspberry types but sure do know a good blackberry!

If you plant "Doyle" blackberry each plant produces the amount of berries you'd get from ten standard plants. Nice big juicy ones, too!

Maybe you have room for both raspberries and blackberries?

Woodspirit - I would suggest you contact your extension office and read up on raspberries because there are so many types to consider. Do you want them to bear on one yr. canes or 2 yr. canes? Do you want red and black (need to be 300' apart or something like that). How cold are your winters? How long is your growing season? I planted 'Valiant' because of it's cold hardiness and it bears on one yr. canes - I can chop it all off!!
Shoe- 'Doyle' sure sounds yummy!!!

For my .02 I believe it is Blackcaps or black raspberries that are to be kept at least 50 feet apart. I don't think there is a problem with planting Blackberries near red raspberries. I've grown Triple Crown Blackberries for the past 3 years very close to my red raspberries and haven't seen any problems. They are thornless and beautiful fruits. I took a plate of 10 to our county fair last summer and got a Grand Champion on them. My problem is birds, we had to build a bird netting cover over them. Donna

Yes Donna, that's what I meant...keep black rasp. away from red rasp., not blackberries. My problem last year was Asian beetles. I had to let the berries ripen in the house or else I wouldn't have had any left! ...congrats on the Grand Champion - bet that was fun!

Hey, Betty... I had some wonderful raspberries in Asheville... bearing 2 crops a year. The Fall crop was always better, though. Slow to start in my heavy clay, they took off like gangbusters after the first year.

As they spread easily, maybe the new owners will give me a couple of starts for you when I go back to divide perennials in the spring.

I started with 2 plants about 5 years ago. Last year I dug and gave away probably 40 plants and there are still lots!

I would suggest looking around this site for Indiana Berry Co - it gets top ratings from our Watchdog. We got our plants two years ago including some golden raspberries - yummmmm!

Two of the blacks did not survive after the first year and they replaced them with a big smile :

The site really gives a lot of info even if you don't use them. Especially read the section titled: raspberry production

http://www.inberry.com/index2.html

This message was edited Feb 15, 2004 10:54 AM

great link - looks like you have to decide when you want the crop