Raspberry - Autumn or Summer variety?

PatsyFagan

My daughter who is new to having a garden, has been gifted a raspberry in a pot. The lady who gave it to her says it had never fruited in the 2 years she has had it. 

So, advice please on;
Best place to plant in a small garden, 
Best way to treat it at this time of year
How/when will we know if it is an Autumn or Summer variety .... 

thanks

fidgetbones

Dig a hole in a sunny position (although they will tolerate some shade) and put it in. Make sure you water it regularly through this year.  A tomato feed will not do it any harm.  At some point if it is a full cane it will flower. Depending on the timing of the flower and hence fruit depends on what you do next.

Summer varieties will flower and fruit on the cane made last year. when it has finished fruiting you cut that cane out. A new cane will grow this year which will fruit next year.

Autumn fruiters will fruit on a cane grown this year.   You can shear them to the ground every February and you will have fruit in the autumn. 

 If you have Polka or Terri Louise, you can double fruit them.  If you leave some of the older  stronger canes and just cut off the top couple of feet of the cane that has already fruited,  last years canes will fruit again from side shoots.  This gives an early crop.  You then cut out those canes, and new canes grown this year will also  fruit in Autumn.

 If buying new canes as a beginner, Polka is one of the easiest. Plant them, pick the fruit, shear to the ground every February. I have even got my non gardening sister to grow them, using runners from my mums, which were runners from mine.   I forgot to say that they do tend to run around a bit.

PatsyFagan

Thanks @fidgetbones .... I have passed your advice to daughter 

PatsyFagan

Another question @fidgetbones if you don't mind. 
I have now viewed the said raspberry and it is romping away and already it has buds on it... so does this mean it is likely to be a summer or autumn fruiting plant ? 
TIA 

fidgetbones

If its already got buds it could be either. I have summer fruiting that already have flowers, and autumn fruiters left from last year  that weren't cut down that have flowers.  The test will be whether new canes that grow from the base this year fruit this autumn or not.