Blackberries, black raspberries, red raspberries and yellow raspberries are closely related. Botanists separate raspberries from blackberries by determining if the core stays in the ripe fruit or is lost during picking. Berries with the core intact are blackberries; berries that lose the core and resemble a thimble are raspberries. Some varieties are a cross between the two.
The loganberry keeps its core intact and is classified as a blackberry. Tayberry has a core that sometimes sticks to the fruit and sometimes comes free of the fruit - especially if over-ripe. Loganberries and tayberries are crosses. By their growth habits they are classified as trailing blackberries. Boysenberries and marionberres are trailing blackberries as well.
Growth habits found in the blackberry-raspberry family vary widely. All bear fruit on two-year-old wood. Everbearing raspberries will also fruit on first year growth. Everbearing raspberries are more accurately called primocane fruiters, as they are not truly everbearing. They have also been frequently called two crop raspberries because they bear a late summer or fall crop on the first year growth (primocanes) and a second crop the following spring on the two year old wood. Remember that after flowering and fruiting, any cane that bore fruit dies back to the crown.
When establishing a new planting of berries, it is important to cut the tops back unless this has already been done at the nursery. All new growth will come from primary buds just below the soil line. If you examine the crown of the plant you will see 2-5 small buds or shoots just above the roots at the base of the crown. All top growth above the primary buds is cane that grew in the nursery the previous summer and is now two years old and destined to flower and fruit. If you leave this two-year-old top growth intact it will start blooming and try to fruit at the expense of new cane growth. Without a properly established root system, the newly transplanted blackberry or raspberry will stress or even die in an attempt to ripen fruit on the excess cane. Proper trimming will result in a much better survival rate and better growth.
Any plant being transplanted will undergo stress. Cutting back your blackberry or raspberry tops relieves much of the stress. It takes 4-6 weeks for new growth to show so leave 3-5 inches of the old top above the ground to mark the plant in the row.
After bringing the new blackberry or raspberry plants home, soak the roots in water for an hour or so prior to planting. You can plant the root system intact, but if the planting hole is smaller than the root system of the transplant, prune the roots to fit. Do not crowd them in the planting hole.
Because the plant is dormant and no leaves are present to transpire moisture, avoid over watering. Over watering can lead to root rot. Normally, spring soil moisture is adequate to guarantee growth if the root system was soaked prior to planting. After growth starts and leaves appear some irrigation may be needed. Follow the guidelines for establishing a rose garden. (See rose tip sheet.) Fertilizer requirements for berries are also the same as for roses. (See rose tip sheet.)
Caution—do not use rose fertilizer that contains pesticides in addition to the fertilizer, as these pesticides may not be approved for use on berries.