Where should I put raspberry and blueberry bushes?

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Tim in PA

New Member
Ok, check it out. I created a garden on the side of the house so my wife can have raspberry and blueberry bushes. She wants two of each. Tell me what quadrant you would recommend to put them in. I don't want it to be too crowded but I don't want to waste space either. I understand they can get kind of big.

Also, what else would be good to fill out the rest of the garden?

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I don't have any experience with raspberries so someone else will need to weigh in on the space required but I think they take a lot of room. I always allow about 3 feet total per bush for my blueberries. This insures you can reach between the bushes and that the bushes don't crowd each other. Make sure to allow ample space between the bushes and the house as well. So what I was thinking you might do is have a raspberry on each end followed by a blueberry. Not knowing how much space the raspberries will need I am not sure what else would fit in your space. I am assuming you would be looking for another perennial type plant that provides fruit? Or are you thinking just ornamental? I will give both some thought;)
 
Raspberries are wanderers and will not stay put and need their own area!
You will need to remove old canes that already produced, so you will have new canes producing every year! You will need to stake the new canes to keep them from flopping over from the weight of the berries in their second year.
For ornamental use I would use currents and gooseberries, as well as the blueberries!
You can get a good crop of berries as well as a nice fall display of colored foliage.
 
Blueberries will do better if you have two varieties for pollination. See what is available at your garden center and get two that bloom at the same time.
 
Ron I like the idea of currents. Good one! Thanks for responding. We don't do raspberries in Fl ;)
 
....almost forgot! Serviceberries (genus Amelanchier) are wonderful, and taste a bit like blueberries, They grow as a large shrub or small tree and flower in early May with berries by early June!
There are various species all looking pretty much the same, also cultivars, all producing a wonderful fall colr display!
All the shrubs I listed are drought tolerant, and for the most part pest free!
 
2 raspberry bushes would take over that whole area in a few years, I wouldn't plant them anywhere near anything else. Blueberries are a nice ornamental shrub too, as long as you keep them trimmed. I should post a picture of our blueberry hedge. They get pretty foliage in the fall and have pretty white flowers in spring. And they are well behaved and don't try to take over the whole yard.
 
Red currants would be good cuz black or gold currants root sucker and will fill the space in just a few years
 
Yes rasberries will overtake the neighbours planted some and now there just weeds to us


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