We are planning on putting in a few planters this spring (likely in the next few weeks), some to transplant some sunshine blueberries, and some to plant raspberries. I know they can spread like wildfire, so I actually have 2 questions. 1) Would a planter bed about 2 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide be able to contain the underground runners, or is this going to be impossible? 2) What type of raspberries would you suggest growing? Any favorites? We would love some that are tasty but are also known to be fairly disease resistant since we do do not use pesticides or non organic fertilizers. I know there are a ton of different varieties out there, and we are fairly new to berries, though we've been growing blueberries and currants for a little while. Just as a FYI, we are located in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. :) Our site gets pretty much full sun all day until about 3-4pm, then it gets a bit more dappled or shaded sun.

I have raspberries growing in 18 gal containers just east of a 6 ft. fence. They get sun until about 2-3 o'clock, depending on the season, and of course more as they get taller. They seem to do fine. Like you, I have shade issues from a gigantic rebuild to the south (and my own house to the east) so I have to be choosy about what will get the most sun and when during the day it gets it. It's also generally cool here, just a couple of blocks from the back bay. I grow the plants in containers because I have almost the exact opposite soil problem: dune sand. If I did manage to get the raspberries going in the ground they'd soon be everywhere, so elevated containers were my solution. They share a netted enclosure with my containerized blueberries. For the soil mixture I use more or less a poor-mans 5-1-1- mixture made with small pathway bark, peat moss and pearlite and a little dolomite. This mixture drains pretty well but does require constant added nutrition because there's not much in it. I originally start with a little Osmocote mixed in but it doesn't last forever.

The two fall-fruiting varieties that should be considered as alternatives to Heritage are Autumn Bliss and Ruby. Autumn Bliss offers larger fruit than Heritage. Autumn Bliss is also much earlier than Heritage, so yields will be much greater in northern areas where much of the Heritage harvest is lost to fall freezes. The large fruit of Ruby justify its trial as an alternative to Heritage. Redwing provided earlier fruit than Heritage, but they were slightly smaller and softer. Summit fruit were very small and this variety was also severely infected by anthracnose during our trial... The standard summer-fruiting varieties for Michigan are Canby (southern areas), Latham and Boyne. Boyne was the most productive in our trial, followed by Algonquin, Reveille and Latham. The varieties showing the most potential as alternatives to Boyne, Canby and Latham were Reveille, Titan, and Algonquin. Reveille was productive and had large flavorful berries. It appeared about as hardy as Candy, so significant winter injury could be expected in more severe regions of Michigan. Titan is suggested for trial primarily because the fruit are so large. Two disadvantages of Titan were that the fruit were quite susceptible to Botrytis rot, and the plants are very susceptible to phytophthora root rot when planted in heavy or poorly drained soils. Algonquin was productive and hardy, but its small berries may limit its value in Michigan. Chilliwack and Tulameen produced high quality fruit but the plants are not sufficiently hardy for Michigan Here is a link that might be useful: Raspberry Variety Testing at MSU

Here in Madison, Wisconsin, I transplant raspberries in the fall, and they overwinter fine. They grow like weeds in our yard, so I have to thin them every spring, or the patch gets so thick with canes that I am unable to get to much of the fruit. They also transplant well in the spring, before they have flowered, typically in April or early May. We have milder winter weather than Alaska, however. It gets down to 10 below every winter, and sometimes we see 20 below, but rarely any colder than that.