Every year our raspberry plants send out suckers. These are new growth from the root of the plant, sometimes called runners, and are absolutely FREE new raspberry plants! The trouble is that are usually growing exactly where we don’t want them. Sometimes they pop up in the row, but often they are out in the walkways, sometimes 2-3 feet away from the original plant! When raspberry plants at the nursery are a whopping $7.00 each, it just makes sense to use the ones that are popping up for free instead. They just need to be moved to a location that is in line with everything else. Starting with just a few plants, you can have a substantial raspberry patch in just a few years by transplanting raspberry suckers. Here’s how to do it so they will live!
1. Determine where you want the new plant and dig a hole in preparation for it. It only needs to be about 2/3 the depth of the average shovel blade, but you can go just a bit deeper just to make sure you have enough room.
2. Locate the new sucker you’re moving and use your shovel to cut into the dirt in between the new sucker and the parent plant. I do this about 4-6 inches away from the new sucker. These new plants are attached to the root of the parent plant and we are trying to sever that connection cleanly to help both plants be as happy as possible afterward.
3. Now use the shovel to dig on the opposite side of the new plant and lift it from the ground with as much root intact as possible.
4. Carry the WHOLE pile of plant and dirt over to the hole you made and set it in carefully. The less the roots are disturbed, the happier your plants will be. If you are digging from another person’s garden, they probably won’t want you taking all their dirt, but if you can pack them into a pot with some dirt that would be ideal. If not, you’ll want to shake the dirt off carefully and keep the roots moist during transport by packing them with wet newspaper, cloth, paper towels, or something similar.
5. Place the plant in the hole at the same depth it was growing before and fill the dirt in around it. You can use the dirt you dug out of this hole to fill the hole left where the sucker came from.
6. Now, don’t wait too long before giving the new transplants a good, deep watering. They need a little extra love to get over the trauma of moving six feet. They may need a little extra water for the first couple of weeks to get fully established. And that’s it! New raspberry plants for FREE!
Keep preparing! Angela
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