If it was previously sodded or old pasture, turn it at least one year prior to planting raspberries and continue to cultivate it to allow the organic material to decompose and to bring weeds under control before planting. Land that has been previously cultivated produces the best crops. Also, raspberries have root rot diseases in common with tomato, potato, eggplant, peppers and petunias, so keep the plantings separated by some distance and never follow one of these crops with raspberries. To reduce disease incidence, select a site at least 300 feet from other cultivated or wild brambles. Flooding for as little as 24 hours can suffocate raspberry roots and wet sites can encourage crown gall and root rot diseases.Ĭultivated raspberries can contract several diseases from wild relatives. The water table should be at least six feet deep at its highest point (usually in spring). Be sure the subsoil is well-drained with no hardpan or berm to restrict water drainage. Raspberries need plenty of moisture but do poorly in wet soils. Always plant on the slope and never at the top of the hill, where wind damage is most severe, or at the bottom, which becomes a cold air pocket. Gently sloping sites protect the plants from some types of cold injury by allowing colder air to drain down-slope, away from the plants. Cultivars recommended for Montana with their descriptions appear in Table 1 on page 2. Gardeners in the warmer areas of the state may be successful with black and purple raspberries and with everbearing types. Most gardeners plant June bearing types since the growing season is often not long enough for everbearing plants to mature a fall crop. They have a strong flavor that is preferred for cooking purposes, but they are not highly popular otherwise. Purple raspberries are hybrids of the black and the red and are intermediate in hardiness. Black raspberries are the least hardy raspberries, but there are promising new black varieties that are hardier. Most yellows are color mutations of the reds and can also be quite hardy. Of the four color classes (red, yellow, black and purple) and two bearing habits (June bearing and everbearing, also called fall bearing), June bearing red raspberries are most common in Montana and they are among the hardiest. The canes are subject to rapid desiccation and breakage, particularly in winter, and benefit from a windbreak. Soils with higher pH can be deficient in available iron, resulting in raspberry leaves becoming chlorotic (turning yellow). In elevation in full sun on neutral or slightly acid (pH 7 to 6), well-drained loam soils. RASPBERRIES WILL GROW BEST BELOW 7000 FEET
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