We live in southern Minnesota and want put some raspberry bushes in the backyard, being new to gardening should we wait until next spring or could they establish themselves well enough during the hot summer months to survive the winter without expert attention?
If you even thought about raspberry bushes, they’ve probably already taken over your yard, and are coming for your house. And they can’t be stopped.
A year ago I was very proud of myself for having eradicated the chocolate mint I planted a decade ago.
This year I have discovered new chocolate mint in the yard, far from where it was.
It was strawberries for me. The delicious fuckers go everywhere.
You win the internet for today, my friend!
Oh no delicious berries will overtake the invasive ugly European grass! Whatever will I do!?! 🙄
I love having raspberry bushes, but having them take over an entire yard is nightmare material. They are thorny, grow fast and choke out everything except the mulberry basal shoots. They would be near impossible to elliminate except by killing everything and starting over.
Hateful thorns change minds. Give it a season.
Thornless varieties exist
That is not what I was talking about lol
I already planted mint right in the ground like a maniac. Maybe raspberries are next?
May as well go for the trifecta and throw in some bamboo, or kudzu.
Lol to this, because it’s partially true, but also a bit defeatist.
You need to stay on top of berry bushes quarterly in warmer zones, but this person is in Minnesota. I don’t think they’ll thrive their like they would in warmer zones without harsh winters.
If farms can keep them in check, regular gardeners can as well, it just takes a fair amount of effort.
Even in colder climates with snowy winters, you need to trim berry bushes regularly to prevent them spreading too much.
As someone in Minnesota, they thrive here just fine. I grow mine in the yard and mow down any that grow where I don’t want them, which seems to keep them in check.
You don’t see the root systems choking off anything adjacent? Genuinely curious.
Not really, no. There’s grass around them and among them, so they seem to be fitting in well.
Mine up in Canada grow like bloody weeds, harsh winters don’t do much to them, they are hardy as fuck.
I actually wouldn’t mind planting some myself in my new property here in Northern Maine. I would really be inclined to do it in some kind container though. I’ll have to look up how they do in such a scenario.
Raspberries do not respect containers. They will escape.
If you have a wooded edge of your property, I’d plant them in the ground there. That’s what they like; they won’t grow up in the woods, and if they pop up elsewhere you can cut them down.
Oh that’s good! I have SO MUCH of this lol.