Nico:

In your climate, which is much like mine in terms of temperatures, you can transplant dormant raspberries (and most other things) throughout the entire winter and spring. The only thing that would prevent you from transplanting would be frozen soil, and I expect you rarely see that.

There may, in fact, be some advantages to transplanting earlier rather than later. When you dig up the plants, you should see developing underground shoots that will become next year's canes. Take good care of them. You can remove the old canes from the previous season completely. If there are any obviously dead areas in the root systems, that do not show shoots, you can prune those off as well. By transplanting now, you allow the plants to accommodate and begin growing in early spring.

It is a little misleading to call raspberry plants two or three years old, since these plants regenerate new canes every year. The original root systems may be that old, but they regenerate too in a healthy planting. Healthy red raspberries also send out underground stolons that result in spreading of the plants -- often as far away as 2-3 feet from the originals in rich, soft soil.

Care after planting consists of covering with a good layer of organic mulch, which should be renewed every year for best health and production. Ground leaves, compost, sawdust, stable manure etc. are all good, and should be placed on the surface over and around the plants. The new canes will find their way up through it. Other than that, they will take care of themselves.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA