Raspberry lifespan ?

Potwoman

On my allotment I have some Raspberry canes  that are a few years old. In a fruit cage.   they have clumps of grass  around their roots  but the new canes look good.    They didn’t fruit well this year but maybe due to neglect      My dilemma is ...... shall I dig them all up and plant new ones ?    Or shall I pursue the old ones with better  care ? I am not sure how many years they can last    Thanks in advance for any advice 

BobTheGardener

Do you know whether they are summer or autumn fruiting types?  That makes a difference to how you prune them.  Diseases, particularly viruses can build-up in them over time, so if more than a decade old, it might be worth replacing them.  There are some excellent modern types, such as Polka (autumn) which are very reliable and need just a light mulch of garden compost each autumn, then cutting completely back to the ground in Feb.

purplerallim

My Autumn raspberries came as bare roots from a friend whose bushes are about 40 years old. He cuts some off every year and has sent them with friends all over the country. So just because they are old doesn't mean that with some tlc they won't produce well next year.  Just give them a good mulch over winter, if summer cut to ground any that have fruited this year leaving newer canes , if autumn do as Bob says.😁

Plashing

We have been picking autumn fruiting raspberries since late June and are still picking them,the oldest ones are at least six years old which are autumn bliss.the new ones called polka which we bought this year from you garden which we left 10" high canes which fruited in July and the new growth started to fruit at the start of this month,I should say this year we have had the best yield ever with at least 10 K.G of raspberries,I suppose the weather has been very good with the rain at the right time.

purplerallim

From how many bushes @Peter Hewitt ?

Plashing

I bought 24 canes of autumn bliss 6 or so years ago and I bought 24 polka canes this year,I would say there is around 4 canes at each stool of autumn bliss and 2 new ones at each of polka canes.They claim that once the polka have established you should get around 5 K.G. of fruit per stool we will have to wait and see.

purplerallim

That makes my 3kg this year sound better after hearing your canes output @Peter Hewitt .😁 I only have three sets of rootstock that produce canes that cover about 8'×6' of fencing ( they are gradually increasing over the last three years) of autumn raspberries,  but I agree it's been a bumper year. ( have had enough to make jam with as well as keep hubby supplied for breakfast😁)

wild edges

The raspberry patch at my parents' place was planted before I was born and is still producing masses of fruit with very little care being spent on the plants. They're so invasive in the soil there that new plants are springing up all over the place. It's hard to tell what is an older plant and what is new but it's basically a self perpetuating stock.

cornelly

Raspberries so invasive, yesterday removed a eight foot root that gone out into the veg plot.