If you have grown raspberries for a few years, you will already know that they have a habit of popping up int he worst places. And when they do, they often seem to be the strongest plants, so it would be a shame to just get rid of them.
here is my guide on how to save and move these plants to expand your raspberry patch!
Here you can see one growing in the middle of my path, but look at how strong and healthy it looks!
The easiest way to dig out a raspberry is to use a spade and work it all the way around the plant.
Don’t be too harsh, take it nice and slow, lifting little by little.
This method, going slow and easy, will give you the best chance of bringing lots of roots with the plant.
The more roots you bring, the better your transplant will do.
Here is the root I managed to dig up. There is plenty of root growth there so I have a lot of confidence that this will take well.
I always pot these transplants up into a container first before moving them into their final spot.
This just helps me to make sure the growing conditions are ideal and that the plant has everything it needs.
I also keep it in a spot I walk by a lot so I can keep a close eye on it.
You will want to water your transplant well, as it will have lost some roots, no matter how much care you took.
If You Dont Get Many Roots
It won’t always be possible to bring many roots with your transplant.
The one below was growing in an awkward spot, right up against a pole. Because of this, it was difficult to dig up and so I didn’t get much root to come with it.
This is still salvageable though, let me show you what I did.
I begin by removing lots of the lower leaves.
You need to treat this plant like it is a cutting, as at this point that’s pretty much what it is.
The more leaves your plant has the more water it will loose through them. And as it doesn’t have many roots it will struggle to take up enough water to support the plant.
I plant it up in a container again, but this time I give it much more water, this helps it to get as much water as possible.
Give it a few weeks and new roots will develop, once new growth is appearing and your transplant looks healthy you can move it into its permanent spot.
This guide is for summer fruiting raspberries, these plants fruit on old growth. So what you see now is what will flower and fruit next year which is why we can transplant and save them.