Have you ever wondered how to grow raspberries from cuttings?
It is common knowledge that raspberries generally propagate without any effort required on your part. However, if you prefer to do the entire process yourself, it is best to know exactly what you need to do.
So, how do you even get started?
Keep reading to learn more about the different techniques on how to achieve success in growing raspberries from cuttings in only 7 simple and easy steps. Let’s get right into it.
How to Grow Raspberries from Cuttings – Important Things to Know
The thought of propagating raspberries may seem tedious and complex.
But the truth is that it is actually much simpler than how you imagine it to be. In fact, these plants are hardy and can tolerate various conditions well.
Thus, if you want to start growing raspberries in your yard, you can easily do so. It only takes the right tools and techniques to get it going.
You can even use an existing plant or some raspberry cuttings and gain success in doing so.
However, you need to pay attention to a few important pointers. For instance, you need to remove parts of your raspberry stems in the late summer months. I recommend that you do this in the early morning, a few hours after you have watered them.
Then, you need to go for stems that easily snap upon bending them. These are the desirable stems that can easily propagate new stems.
7 Steps on How to Grow Raspberries from Cuttings
Once you have identified the right stems to cut, you are ready to proceed to these steps.
1. Prepare your tools.
There are only basic tools required to grow your raspberries from cuttings. These include the following:
- Pruning shears
- Seed starting mix
- Perlite
- Potting soil
- Containers for transplanting
- Rooting hormone formula
- Planting tray
2. Cut the right length.
The ideal length when pruning stems is between 3 and 6 inches. Use your clean and sanitized shears and be sure to include a couple of lead nodes in every cutting. You can easily identify these nodes as they appear as small swellings located on the stems.
Pluck away the lower leaves. Then, remove the bottom lip by slicing off some thin strips right off the outer bark.
Read more: How to Prune Raspberries in the Spring
3. Treat the wounds on the cutting.
This next step is important to prevent infections on the wounds created upon removing the lower leaves. For this step, you will use two containers – one contains water and the other one has a rooting hormone formula.
Be sure to dip the cuttings in the water first before putting some rooting hormone powder. This way, it will allow the powder to stick to the wounds and cover them well.
4. Time to plant.
Now, comes the fun part – planting your cuttings. I use a planting tray that contains a favorable type of potting mix. Basically, it is a combination of a soilless mix and perlite to promote excellent drainage while allowing the roots to go deeper into your planting medium.
You will need to bury the nodes in the lower section. But make it a point to keep the top leaves above the soil.
5. Choose the right location.
Cuttings require a shaded spot with a good amount of humidity. Thus, you need to cover the planting tray in plastic to keep the moisture in. Then, place the tray in a shaded location that is humid – not too hot, not too cold.
6. Transplant your cuttings.
The easiest and fool-proof way to determine if the cuttings are ready for transplanting is by checking the roots. They should be poking out through the tray’s drainage holes.
Plant a cutting in a container with good-quality soil. Water the soil and be sure to keep it moist. As for the best time to transplant, it would be in the cooler months such as in spring.
7. Maintain and care for your cuttings.
In winter, you need to check the roots to make sure they are indeed a part of the raspberry plant. If you are certain that they are raspberry rootlets, you can trim these off. The rule of thumb is to only trim those that are a few centimeters thick.
Use your pruning shears to cut the rootlets into sections about 3 inches thick each. Cut the top end straight while keeping it a diagonal cut for the bottom portion of the root. Lastly, cover the exposed roots of the parent plant with some soil.
When burying the root cuttings, be sure they maintain an upright position with the straight-cut portions at the soil level. Then, you can water them and put the container in a shaded area that does not get direct sunlight. They should be reading for replanting in garden soil outdoors in about 3 or 4 weeks.
Want a visual step-by-step on how to grow raspberries from cuttings? This helpful video can show you how:
Important Tips For Healthy Cuttings
When you remove the root cuttings, you should maintain the right length at all times. The ideal amount to be removed should not exceed a third of your plant’s roots. If you cut more than what is required, this can impact the parent plant and diminish its energy reserves.
Additionally, you should prevent root cuttings from exposure to direct sunlight. This can impact their growth and development.
Conclusion
Raspberries are tasty, nutritious, and profitable crops. This is why it is good to have these berries in your yard whether for personal consumption or commercial uses.
I hope that you learned more about how to grow raspberries from cuttings through this post. Be sure to follow the steps to ensure success in propagating this crop the correct and efficient way.
When leaving raspberries in pots over the winter, do I take them into my garage or just leave them out in the cold all winter? I have them under my deck to avoid sunlight.