My Tiny PlotAutumn Raspberries
I harvested a basketful of raspberries this weekend from our row of Autumn raspberries. In my experience Autumn raspberries tend to give bigger yields and the fruit are larger too. I planted this row of ten Autumn Bliss canes in December 2005 with four golden raspberries (I forget the variety now). They are all doing very well – even though only one golden variety made it through. We have more than enough raspberries for the two of us. I’d recommend planting some raspberries this November if you haven’t already. They are very easy to maintain. Just cut them back to the ground in the winter and they will spring back and fruit like crazy!
I sooo agree! Autumn Bliss are fat, sweet, plentiful, juicy and easy to grow!
I planted some summer fruiting canes last year to increase the raspberry season and oh how I regret it. The new canes have grown through the netting by about 4 feet ( A B doesn’t even need netting)
and my next task is to become scratched to death cutting out the old canes and pulling the new ones through the ****** netting!
I’m tempted to dig them up………
Also, don’t forget that Autumn Bliss freeze really well
I planted 10 canes of Autumn Bliss early this year and most of them died. I’ll be planting more next year.
I planted some Autumn Bliss early in spring and they died too! I am going to try planting some in November.
PS. Your captcha script doesn’t work all the time – it keeps failing me and I know I’ve typed the right answers in!
what a beautiful photo…. if that doesn’t inspire me to grow raspberries then I am without spirit
I have only just started to grow raspberries, my Dad gave me half a dozen canes, they haven’t done much this year (only a couple of handfuls of fruit so far) but hopefully next year they will do better, it is great just to be able to go out in the garden and pick off the berries as they appear, before the birds find them that is. Thanks Gill for getting back to me with the advice on blogging, maybe someone will discover my blog eventually …!
Feb this year I stuck half a dozen raspberry canes in the flower border, and to remind me where they were I didn’t prune them. Lo and behold those 18 inch high last year rods came into leaf and flowered and fruited during June (we only had about a good bowlfull, but they were bootifull). I still haven’t done anything to the plants, except start picking fruit off this current years growth. I have been assured that the variety is Autumn Bliss, but I cannot find any reference to the dual fruitng aspect. Can anyone help.
i have had a good crop off some my autumn raspberries, but half of the canes are not fruiting and do not flower. can anyone help?
Did you cut them down to the ground in Feb? Autumn raspberries fruit on this year’s canes. Other than that I know that they like Acid soil and plenty of manure. Also they don’t like to have their roots disturbed by hoeing.
I have just been given some autumn raspberries. Is it too late to plant them and do they need to be supported? Would appreciate any advice as this is all new to me!
Answer to: Autumn Bliss, but I cannot find any reference to the dual fruitng aspect. Can anyone help.
I’ve just read that if you cut only 50% of the canes back at prunning time the remaining canes will branch out and fruit in June/July. Aparently this does not affect the new grow for the autumn fruit.
May I use your picture as part of a moodboard I am working on? It’s not for any publications, just for a moodboard contest on decor8.blogspot.com. I just love your pic. I will make sure to mention your blog name. Thanks!
Update to: Autumn Bliss, but I cannot find any reference to the dual fruiting aspect.
Thanks Andrew W for your information. Last November (2007) I got some Autumn Bliss from a neighbour who every year, like a good boy, does as he is told and cuts the plants to ground level and gets a good crop off the current years growth, but, because of what I learned from my half a dozen plants I put in year last February, I took a good look at the rods and noticed that they fruited from the top down, and it was only the frost that stopped them from fruiting, so I pruned down to that level and lo and behold, this year from the leaf axils most of them bore fruit, (as did the ones in the flower garden). The new rods are now bearing fruit, (flowering and fruiting from the top) so next Spring I shall again only prune down to where they stopped fruiting, and with at least 18 plants I shall expect luverlee raspberries from June til the first frosts off the same plants. Yum yum
I too find autumn bliss very good. on my heavy clay (even though improved with grit etc) summer rasps do not last well but autumn bliss are reliable. one year when I never got round to cutting them back in winter, they did fruit early on the previous yr’s canes- though it made the season very drawn-out and I never got a good crop all at once.
I have just bought five bare rooted canes of Autumn Bliss.
How far apart should I plant them, bearing in mind I only have half an allotement?
Look forward to replies.
All the comments on Autumn Bliss raspberries were illuminating but can anyone tell me the approximate height to which they will grow? Many thanks.
Hello Stephanie, plant them wherever you want because Raspberries are wanderers and they will do their own thing unless you keep them in check, which I hope I have done this year by putting them into a raised bed 30inches wide x 14foot long x the height of a scaffolding board. I planted 14 down the middle of the bed and pruned them as above (with the idea of growing a row of dwarf Bolotti Beans down either side) now most of them are in bud, and 5 plants are already throwing up this years fruiting rods, the furthest is about a foot away from the parent plant. I gave away the excess canes from the garden and the allotment, and I now have a veritable forest of new growth (I shall leave them for the fruit this year) from where some roots were left in the soil. Hello Jan, none of mine have grown more than 42inches high, so they have not been staked, but it might be a different story once they are established and the growth is like a thick hedge, and if you live in a very windy place, so just grow and enjoy, and cross that bridge when you come to it.
Help,
I have just bought 5 Autumn Bliss Raspberry canes, they have some green leaves coming through. I have put them in the greenhouse until I have cleared an area in my garden. I have read a few blogs and nearly all say these should be planted in Autumn. Help!!!
Any advise would be taken on board.
Many thanks
Hi Cteds,
You did well to find raspberries on sale at this time of year! The blogs are right raspberries should be planted in Autumn. However, now that you’ve got your plants I would plant them. What have you got to lose? Raspberries are pretty robust plants – it takes a lot to faze them. Maybe think about nipping the flowers off this year to allow the plant to gain strength before it fruits next year.
I grow golden raspberrys at home. Why? Because they don’t get those little white maggots in them (with which my previous red ones were plagued). Only snag is they are very vigorous, grow to over 5ft. and send out underground shoots 6-8 ft. away.
Can I plant golded raspberries in a half cut wine barrel, or do they need to be planted in the ground? My concern is that The soil I have in the ground is clay based and I understand that it is not good for raspberries? Is that correct, or will they do ok in a clay based soil?
Hi Gabriel,
I planted my Raspberries in a very heavy, sticky soil at my allotment when I had it. They did fine. If you’re worried about your clay then you could work in some compost before you plant your Raspberries. I think you might find that a tub will be too small after the first year. They tend to spread quite a bit by sending out suckers.
Hope that helps
The raspberries I made jam with this week have not made such nice jam. It’s still edible and delicious just slightly tarter.
Loads more to pick that will have to wait until tomorrow though, and hopefully some plums to be picked again.
The damsons are teasing me. Leaping to their death on the ground where the slugs are finding them first.
And I’ve got to find time to go pick some blackberries too!
I planted 25 Autumn Bliss in November 4 years ago. They fruited the following autumn and I did not cut any canes back until after they had fruited a second time the following June. I have carried out this procedure each year since, having two excellent crops per year. The cutting down of the canes cropping in the autumn during the winter would thus deprive me of the following June crop, thus the only time I cut out old canes is after this crop.
I have to net carefully against birds stealing my June crop but they have no interest in the autumn crop which therefore I do not net.
I planted 6 canes of Autum Bliss last November & my little girl an I have had great pleasure picking so many raspberries this autumn.
Made several crumbles and lost count of how many jam jars we filled.
Jast planted 3 more canes and cut back this years all ready for another great years harvest in 2010.
Inspired by the thought of Autumn raspberries from your picture -painted more than a thousand words for me. Planted 12 Autumn raspberry canes today-variety called Polka. Anybody heard of them? Hope it is not too late for them to get established.
Granny Sue
Hi i have just read with interest your post on autumn bliss raspbeeries, i have just been given 5 autumn bliss raspberry canes for my xmas and need some advice on planting please,
i have a relatively small garden and the best sunny but sheltered spot for me to plant these canes is quite clayey!? would they be ok if i mixed some good compost in the ground before planting?
also there are five canes in a ball do i seperate and plant these in rows or just as one big wigwam shape? can i plant these now or do i need to wait a bit? and finally do i need to trim back the canes after planting. any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
x x x
Re: Autumn Bliss
Have grown these for about five years now. They will tolerate some shade, but some sun is required for best quality. Like all raspberries they like a cool moist root run and no hoeing to disturb the roots, otherwise you will get suckers springing up. I solved that by laying old narrow (450mm wide) paving slabs between the rows – dry and mud-free walkways, plus moisture preservation for the roots.
The plants grow to about 1.5 metres in height. They can manage without support, but when they are tall and the winds and rains arrive in June/July time, they will tend to keel over somewhat. I solved this by putting in two wide posts 1600-1800mm high at each end of a row, then screwing 450-600mm wide horizontal cross arms (1-inch thick tanalised lathing from a DIY store is fine) at 450mm and 800mm heights onto the posts. The cross arms have a small hole drilled near the end, and I stretch 2mm diameter garden wire end-to-end at the two heights. That way, as the canes grow, you make sure they stay within the wires, and that is all the support they need. It helps if you cross-tie the horizontal top wires at 1-metre intervals, because the density and weight of the canes can make the long horizontal wires bulge outward a bit.
For feeding, use 1oz of sulphate of potash per sqare yard in late January/early February (encourages flowering and promotes fruiting quality) and at planting – and every three years after that – use 2oz of superphosphate (promotes root growth). Once that has been applied, cover with about two inches of farmyard or composted manure (conserves moisture, improves the soil texture, and raises the soil acidity level). That’s it. The canes will grow and fruit; because they flower later than summer raspberries they tend to avoid getting raspberry beetle (no no spraying is required); all you need to do is cut the old canes down just above ground level in January.
I let the canes grow in slightly staggered clumps about six inches apart along the row. Any fruit which falls and grows outside the rows can be gently dug up in early spring and replanted in the rows or used for new rows. Just water well initially if you do that.
If you are planting from scratch, dug out a trench about 300-400mm wide and six inches deep, line it it with farmyard manure, add superphosphate (or bonemeal) and mix in, cover with reasonable quality soil, plant the canes with the old tops showing above ground level, and backfill with same reasonable quality soil and gently firm in. Water regularly to help the plants get established.
Sorry if that has been a bit long and I have mixed metric and imperial measurements, but I hope the posting helps.
I planted some Autumn Bliss last year. After planting about five plants, I now have a bunch. Are A. B. very invasive? Should I consider putting them in planters to contain them, so I’m not constantly digging them up? I don’t have a huge area for them to proliferate. Thanks.
Autumn Bliss are not especially invasive, but will throw new plants for two main reasons: 1. damage to the roots as a result of hoeing/raking, thus causing suckers to occur; 2. ripe fruits falling to the ground, or as a result of bird action, and germinating. Before you resort to containers, I’d try smallish slabs or wooden planks on each side of the row. This prevents hoeing damage; fallen fruit won’t germinate on it; and there is the side benefit of keeping the soil beneath moist and cool. Failing that, you even could try inserting the planks into the soil to prevent the physical spread of the roots. Raspberries are quite shallow rooted as far as feeding and spreading roots are concerned.
If you do have unwanted shoots, the extra plants can always be inserted at blank places along the row, and several years down the line they can be used to start a new row. Raspberries are usually at full production for about 8-10 years. After that, vigour drops off, viruses sometimes get a hold, and the usual advice is either to plant on a new site or change the soil to a width of 300-450mm and a depth of 300mm.
How do I tell whether my inherited raspberries are Autumn or summer types?
Rosie – see if the canes have flowers and fruit this year (2011) – if they do, they are summer-fruiting raspberries. because the summer fruiting raspberries fruit on the canes they made last year; the autumn ones will throw new shoots from the ground this year, and will fruit on those. The autumn ones also flower a little later, because they have to make the cane growth before the flowers emerge, whereas the summer fruiting ones made the growth last year, so the flowers appear on new shoots all the way up the cane.
The summer fruiting ones will throw new canes this year, but no flowers will appear – these new canes are the ones you have to keep for next year’s fruit. For these types, you cut down the canes which flowered and fruited this year, and leave the new growth. For the autumn fruiting varieties, you just cut everything down to ground level in February. Personally, I think that these types are far easier to manage!
My Autumn Raspberry canes are dying 1 by 1. I have had the plants in the ground for about 8 years and cut them to the ground every February. I have always have a great crop off of them but this years most of them have stunted growth and 1 by one the leaves are turning brown, curling up and dying. Some of these leaves have also been eaten.. I am unable to locate any pest on them and am so disappointed. I have tried to research this but the only thing I can see on the internet that could be responsible is the raspberry leaf beetle. Can someone help please? Do I dig them up and start with new canes in the autumn or leave and hope it doesn’t happen again next year???
I have been growing Autumn Bliss for last 11 years, but for the last 2 years I have noticed that after intial setting the fruits on some of the canes are just drying up. Also on some of the canes the leaves are going yellow, but not falling off.
Does anyone think it is because of the last 2 successive very dry springs, also here (near Derby) we also had very little rain during August.
I have alawys cut the canes down to ground level in eartly March, fed with general fertlizer or chicken pellets and mulched well.
Also know that after 10 years the canes may need replacing – any thoughts from anyone ??
thanks
Remember to plant new raspberry canes at only 3″ (75mm) deep. PLANTING THEM DEEPER KILLS THEM.