I got some … I suppose they would be called hardwood cuttings… anyway raspberry cane cuttings from a nice forum member here. These are both black raspberry.
I am attempting root them and what I have done so far is this.
The cuttings were plenty long… 8 inch or so.
I made a fresh cut just below a node at the bottom and I scraped the cane bark there in 2 places to reveal cambium layer. I dipped them in rooting powder. I made a fresh cut on the top just above a node… and I poked them down in my rooting medium (pro mix hp) which was pre moistened.
Several nodes under with 2 up top.
I have them in my basement on my heat mat where I am rooting figs and some mulberry cuttings. The heat mat / thermostat keeps the soil at 75-78 degrees.
After a few days I can see some bud swell and a slight greening. This worries me a bit… I know with figs you need roots to develop first and then shoots.
These raspberry cuttings seem to be pushing some green bud very early.
Thinking I might out to deny them sunlight initially for roots to develop first ?
Any of you have experience at rooting raspberry from cane cuttings ?
No, but black raspberries will usually root from tips. You just have to bend the cane to the ground and secure the tip under a layer of soil. This works better later in the season when canes are long. It often happens spontaneously. Maybe your source can layer some plants for you.
i agree . its best to get them to root before leafing out. sometimes they make it though. get rid of the heat mat. thats whats waking them up. they root best from 33f to 55f. much warmer than that they will push growth. unlike figs and mulberry that like heat to root, cane fruit like it cold.
I agree with Steve, heat mat will wake them up too soon before roots can form. I would be inclined to place them inside a closed moisture trapping clear plastic bag exposed to early morning sunlight up to about 11am. As the buds wake up they need some sun to produce the sugars needed for roots to form.
Dennis
Kent, wa
If they are already waking up, denying them light will be counterproductive. They will simply be expending energy on growth while having no ability to recoup it by conducting photosynthesis.
Hi Trev,
On second thought, seeing that your daily highs may touch 70s, I would keep them in an area with only 3-4 hours of sun, but shaded completely after temps each day are above 55F, this should keep them cool enough to avoid desiccation until rooting.
Dennis
I only have one in each pot (3 per pot)… that is pushing a nub of green at this point. In the pic above you can see the one in that pot.
When I got back home last night and read the comments here… I made these changes…
I took those two 4x9 tree pots with rasp cuttings off the heat mat (which is on a table with sunny southern exposure) and I moved them to a location in my basement where it is cooler and no direct sun.
I had a piece of plywood there to help insulate my figs (during the first dark month) and I removed it… and sit those rasp cutting pots direct on the cool basement concerte slab.
The soil in those pots should be quite a bit cooler now. I also (at least initially) slipped a paper bag over the top of each pot to reduce even the indirect light they might get there.
I will keep an eye on them this next week or two and keep an eye on the budding and leafing… Hopefully this will slow that down… so I get some roots first.
Last year I got a single Jewel black raspberry. The first year canes I allowed to grow however they would, and several really floppy canes resulted. I let them grow along the ground, and as they continued to lengthen buried a bit every foot or so. I let the growing tips stay above ground to keep growing through the season. The result this spring is about ten new plants. I plan to dig them up and redistribute them in a line to be trellised.
Any suggestions about the best way to support the new bushes? I thought of running a couple of lines of wire, about a foot apart on either side of the line of new plants and supported at each end by t-posts, to keep them within bounds. I thought I’d space the plants 2-3 feet apart. Is there a better way? I was surprised by how floppy these plants grew, compared with the stiff upright growth of my old red rasps that I got rid of.
Here is what my black rasp cuttings look like after a week or so sitting on cooler concrete basement slab… and with paper sacks on top to reduce light exposure more.
More growth did happen… perhaps less than if I had kept them in sunny bottom heat location. The growth that did happen is mostly light yellowish in color.
I moved them back to my sunny window location for now but off the heatmat. I can sit them there for morning sun only… and the temp there averages 68 or so.
Or I could move them to my back porch… morning sun only there. We are supposed to get some highs in the 80s this week.
find a full shade spot outdoors and bury the pot in the ground so the roots stay cool. this way they will still get a little light or you can keep in the cellar with a large ziplock bag on them with a light bulb over them. either works.
Thank you, Trev, helpful! I guess the advantage of the “v” shape over straight posts is that it better accommodates the natural outward splaying of the canes?
If yours root and mine fail or vice versa we will know which works best…hopefully both.
Im doing mine in the shady side of my house…never gets direct sunlight. Pots are in a mixture of diatomaceous earth and less than a handful of ProMix. I checked them today after a week and they wouldnt take any water…poured out the bottom. So everything is very moist in there. I have my pots in a 105qt sterilite opaque bin. So like a mini greenhouse.
I still have these raspberry cuttings in the basement … cooler down there 67 68 or so… than outside now. Off the heat mat… positioned so they get a couple hours of morning sun.
Look good to me … the tops… hope rooting is happening too.
