Hello, I have a number of young raspberry shoots that have overgrown into my veggie garden and I wish to transplant them to grow a few more fall veggies. Just wondering if this is a safe time to do a transplant as we are now over the extreme heat wave. We live out in Havelock just 1 1/2 hours east of Toronto. The area gets a bit of shade in the evening and lots of sun during the day.
Thanks
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners
We are thankfully enjoying a respite from this summer’s heat and drought, but this can all change suddenly and I might suggest you delay any transplanting until fall when the plant has gone dormant or early spring before growth starts. In our climate spring is the optimum time for replanting raspberries. When you mention that you have new shoots do you mean that you have new plants (or suckers) that have grown from either the base of old canes or as shoots on runners. I anticipate that this is the case, and I would certainly hold off any planting right now. However this would be a very good time to prepare the new home for your raspberries.
Once you have selected an area that has full sun. Remove any weeds and prepare a trench of approximately 2 feet wide, and several inches deep, then generously enrich with well composted manure, and fill in with a good soil, free of weed seeds.
When it is time to transplant select the healthiest suckers from the plants (they should be at least 2 years old) and cut into the soil between the sucker and the parent plant trying to leave at least 4 inches between the sucker and the parent plant trying. Pry away gently trying to take as much of the root as possible.
Place each new plant in hole approximately 3 inches deep and 2 to 3 feet apart, making sure that the roots have lots of room to spread out.
Be careful to replant as soon as possible to avoid transplant shock. This can occur when roots dry out, so try to keep them moist during the replant process.
Water in well (I like to water in with “plant starter”) and ensure that you gently tamp the soil to remove any air pockets. Keep new plantings well-watered for the first few weeks.
Pruning canes above a growing bud 6 – 9 inches above the soil level will promote new growth. I hope your new raspberry plants will keep you in jam for many years! Good luck.
You may find this article on growing raspberries helpful:
https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/fruit/raspberries-for-the-home-garden/