Telanerv:

This is a very curious story. Here we are in the middle of January, and you are buying and planting caneberries. Whether you do it in the ground or in containers, it's the middle of winter, and not the usual time to plant caneberries where temperatures can still fall to the single digits before spring. But if you can still work your soil, put them in the ground now and mulch them well. They will probably survive. Don't put them in pots where they might not unless you are going to put the pots in a protected location.

I am surprised that any local nursery would be selling these things now, but not so surprised that a nursery like Willis would be selling "3 year" raspberry plants any old time. And here's why:

Raspberries are not permanent bushes, but biennials, which grow up one season and fruit the next. Everbearing varieties such as the ones you mention, can grow up and bear in a single season, though they may winter over and provide an additional small crop the following spring. But the usual practice is to cut them down in early winter and let them do their thing the following season.

Whether you have everbearers or summerbearing raspberries, there is no such thing as a 3-year plant. After bearing, the canes die, and that happens in either one or two years. Raspberries are propagated by underground rhizomes, and the best, most vigorous plants are the small new plants that have strong, living shoots. They will grow up and produce.

It would be best to buy and plant caneberries, either blackberries or raspberries, in early spring. That would be about March in Okie City. I have been suspicious of this Willis outfit for some time, and this confirms it. They are crazy to be shipping out plants to a cold climate in January, and lying about them being "3-year" plants.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

okay so my heritage raspberry that i potted in a 3 or 5 gallon pot is not doing so well...
the leaves are starting to turn brown and curl, this happened to the topmost buds, the ones that started growing first (before it was even in soil!) i figured that happened because the plant started growing demanding moisture that the roots couldn't supply, but now that its in the pot and its been growing i did not expect the new growth to have problems... any advice? will post pics later if necessary

So where are these plants growing? I know they're in pots, but where are the pots? In the house, outside, in a greenhouse? Pictures would be helpful.

Also, I agree with everything Don said. A nursery shouldn't be shipping plants this time of year and they're definitely lying about the whole three-year-old thing.

right now i move it outdoors every morning to get sun, since we are having such warm days, but i move it in by sundown so it wont experience the near or below freezing temps overnight.
so its outdoors and indoors. outdoors in my front lawn pictures soon as i find my camera !!
i don't understand about the age thing either how old r my vines?

Telenerv:

Please dig up your outdoor bed, and plant your berries in the ground. Then mulch them with 2-3 inches of ground leaves, sawdust, or stable manure. They will have a much better chance of survival if you do this than if you leave them in pots, plus saving you lot of trouble moving the pots in and out. If you are having sunny days, your soil should be workable.

Don't worry about how old your plants are, since it doesn't really make any difference so long as they are alive. Suffice it to say that they could not be 3 years old, and if you paid extra for age, Willis Nursery got more of your money that they should have. Find a better source for plants next time you need them. You can get better plants a lot cheaper from Pense Nurseries in nearby Arkansas, and they won't lie to you.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Don- thanks for the rec. about pense nurseries i wish i had bought through them instead.
i didn't plant it in the ground because i'm pretty sure the cold winter days that r just delayed are going to kill it, and as i write this we are experiencing a large ice storm

okay i tried taking pictures but the ones i could get are too bleached out or too fuzzy to really tell, the leaves are all brown and withered except for a newest growth which is green... and in a few days the edges of the leaf will curl, turn brown and eventually the whole leave shrivels and is brown.

so can anyone tell me what to do? the soil ph is correct i think, about 6.5. its in this miracle gro potting soil is the soil killing it?

telanerve:

Once again, if you can work your soil put the plants in the ground. Whether the leaves are brown or green, or if they have no leaves at all is not relevant. They are not supposed to have leaves at this time of year in a temperate climate.

The important, living parts of your plants are the roots and the tiny shoots produced underground. If you bury them the cold will not harm them. If the plants have been kept too warm for too long, either by the nursery or by you, it is possible that these shoots are dead and will not grow no matter what you do.

The best shot you have is to plant the berries outdoors, and the sooner the better. After planting, mulch them with about 2-3 inches of ground leaves or sawdust.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Brambles have biennial stalks and perrenial roots. When you buy a '3-year' bramble of any sort, the understanding is that it has produced a stalk for three seasons. Specifically:

Dig up some roots of any given bramble and plant a 6" portion just before it breaks dormancy. It should (given sufficient water, sunlight, etc.) produce a primocane and at the end of the year will be a '1-year plant'.

The following year, the primocane becomes a floricane and will flower and produce fruit. A new primocane will grow from the base of the plant. At the end of the year, the floricane will die (indeed should be cut off after the last of the fruit has been picked), but the bramble will be labeled a '2-year plant' by any nursery.

The year following this, last year's primocane will in turn become a floricane and produce fruit. A third new primocane will grow from the base. At the end of this year, the floricane will die in turn, and the bramble will be a '3-year plant'. There is never a three-year old cane, but there *are* three-year old roots.

When shipping brambles bare-root, generally the nursery will cut off all but about 6-12" of whatever cane exists. The cane is unimportant, it's the roots that make the plant. It's unlikely the cane as shipped will produce much (if any) fruit and you wouldn't want it to anyway as the first year the plant should be allowed to establish itself. A new primocane will grow from the base and this will fruit the following season. Bramble roots aren't killed by a freeze so they can be planted regardless.