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lavender_lass

Raspberry question

lavender_lass
13 years ago

I have five purple royalty raspberries that I got this spring and they're growing quite well in the kitchen garden, until now. The deer haven't bothered them all year, but now that the grass is dying back, they've started eating the leaves. I think it's the babies (they try everything) but I'm wondering if anyone has ever interplanted raspberries with anything else?

I planted them fairly far apart, since they're supposed to get about 5' tall. I have all this bee balm that I need to divide and I was thinking of planting it between and behind the raspberries. Is this going to make the raspberries taste any different? It would be very pretty, since the bee balm is red and I have lavender alyssum under the raspberries, with blueberries behind them. Also have strawberries under the blueberries, so they may all end up growing together :)

It's a small enough area, I should be able to pull up any bee balm that gets too carried away. Has anyone ever tried this?

Comments (8)

  • loisthegardener_nc7b
    13 years ago

    I've never heard of planting anything with raspberries. But then I've never grown raspberries (a situation I hope to change next year). Do you have the raspberry roots contained in some way? If not, won't they expand and choke out almost anything else planted between them? If you do plant bee balm between the raspberries, I don't think it will change the flavor at all.

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Lois- Purple royalty raspberries are 'supposed' to stay in their area and not spread very much...we will see :)

    I'd like to try some red raspberries, but I'm afraid they will take over the area. If I can find a good place for them to have their own bed, then I can mow all the way around them. I've heard that's the best way to control them! LOL

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    As for red raspberries, would it be a problem to put them in front of the lilac hedge? The lilacs are at least 60 years old, so I would hope the raspberries wouldn't be a problem for them.

    If that worked, I could mow in front of the raspberries and keep them somewhat contained. Would spearmint thrown in the mix be a mistake? I know spearmint tends to take over, but so do red raspberries. Maybe they could all fight in out and still keep the baby deer away from my raspberries! LOL

  • sarahrock
    13 years ago

    I planted 2 raspberry plants last summer and so this has been my first year with them. They are in a bed with some catmint and honeysuckle and they are already completely taking over everything. Then again, I am happy to have them run riot and am planning on transplanting the honeysuckle and catmint to give them all the room they want.

    Anyway, I guess my point is that it seems to me that they will take over anything planted around them. Perhaps some things will survive, but they will have thorny raspberry stalks coming up in the middle of them for sure unless you are diligent.

  • ianna
    13 years ago

    You should contain the raspberries or at least dig deep trenches around the bed to prevent their spread. They may have been labeled as a non-spreader but be on the safe side and take steps to contain them.

  • sarahrock
    13 years ago

    Fortunately, the bed my raspberries are in is contained on one side by a shed and the other side by my lawn... so I will just keep mowing them down as they try to spread. :)

  • krycek1984
    13 years ago

    My Mom has a raspberry bed with some black eyed susans popping up between the canes, some comfrey, and a few ferns. It's quite nice. There's no reason other plants can't co exist!

  • thrills
    13 years ago

    Hi
    I'd be careful planting two spreading habit type plants together. Well, it is easy for me to TYPE that, but it is completely the kind of thing I do and then later, when the two are hopelessly intermingled, regret.

    Maybe try an annual the deer do not like. Cleome seems to be a great deer screen. It is tall enough to keep the deer from reaching over to get at their more preferred plants. I grew cleome and amaranth this year, and in the areas where the amaranth was behind the cleome, the amaranth was able to grow to 5 ft and bloom heavily. In other areas I have little amaranth stumps! They also do not seem to like to walk through pumpkin foliage, but they will stand on the edge of the pumpkin patch and reach in to get at phlox, strawflowers and the amaranth.
    Good luck !!

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