Anyone growing fall raspberries in zone 3?

I am curious how well the fall bearing red raspberries do up in zone 3. I have seen the plants listed as hardy, but do they fruit well and finish most of their crop before cold weather set in?

We can grow raspberries in zone 2. They are usually ready in late July

I am pretty sure what we grow here are summer bearing raspberries - fruit in late Jul and August and then finished. Fall bearing types go on much longer. Im not sure how well they would do here considering we can have frosts in September or sometimes even earlier

""There are two types of red raspberries: summer-bearing and fall-bearing. The standard varieties are biennial summer-bearers that produce canes the first season and bear fruit on short lateral branches of these canes the following summer. Fall-bearing raspberries also produce canes (suckers) from the roots but require no dormant period for fruiting. These canes bear fruit in August and September of the first season. These canes may overwinter and produce a light summer crop, but this is at the expense of a reduced fall crop.""

hello you two in Calgary!

Thanks for answering some of my questions. I have more, if you've time.
Do you know what cultivars you might be growing? Do you need to put extra mulch down for winter protection of the crowns, or does the snow cover provide the insulation from winter cold? Do you have any pests on the fruit that far north, like yellowjackets?

Also, do you grow any lowbush blueberry up there?
Thanks
brambledad

I don't remember the type of raspberries that I have...been quite a few year since I had planted them. There is a local grower that has Boyne, Primocane, heritage Yellow & Red Mammoth. Check out the website, it is a very interesting place: www.saskatoonfarm.com

Hi in Indiana!

I have no idea what cultivars I grow. I bought the original plants almost 20 years ago and didnt know anything about them then except I knew I wanted to grow them!

So my current plants are from suckers from the original plants - and have been moved two times since then! I did buy a couple of new plants two years ago but I dont have a tag for them (although it might still be on the plant !).

Raspberries are very hardy here. I do not do anything to protect mine. Snow cover may come and go here in Calgary because of chinooks.

I suppose there are pests but I cannot remember ever having any!

The only problem I really encounter is suckers. My raspberry bed was originally between my veggie garden and a flower bed and I had suckers all over the place! Now they are planted in a bed ( which happens to be raised but that is not relevant) that is surrounded by concrete pavers, 9x16 inchs - long side down- like a 16 inch wall around the raspberries. Apparently they dont sucker much lower than that and it certainly contains the suckers mainly to the interior area.

Dont know anything about lowbush blueberries.

This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 9:30 PM

I grow "Autumn Bliss" which I purchased from Jungs several years ago. They bear in mid August into October-Picked 3 quarts late October last year (had a long growing season) They are large and very tasty!

samting,
Yeah, Autumn Bliss is really good. I have a row of those, and they are one of the sweetest red raspberries. Do you have any Autumn Britten? THose are the "improved" Autumn Bliss. They produce a more concentrated crop, about a week or so earlier than Bliss, then trail along till frost. Seem to have a larger berry than Bliss, but the taste is just not as sweet, in my opinion. They do sell fine at market, however.
brambledad

yes we do grow low bush blueberries in this country and have a lovely wild blueberry and cranberry north of me. our blueberries just never get the size of the ones at the west coast -- good flavour but not as juicy. also require a lot of soil preparation as they like an acidic soil (old rhody beds would be perfect)