I'm curious about the spread of raspberries in my garden, particularly since their roots tend to take over. I have a section that's tricky to mow as it's right next to a small wall, and I'm considering replacing the grass with raspberries. On one side, they'll be walled in, and the other side has about 3 meters (10 feet) of grass. I'm not too worried about them spreading through the grass since I keep it well mowed, but I'm wondering if they might manage to spread the 3 meters into areas I'd prefer to keep clear. Does anyone have experience with how far raspberries can actually spread?
3 Answers
It can vary a bit by species, but from my experience, my raspberry plants typically send out runners about 2 to 3 feet away. Sometimes I've seen them pop up as far as 5 feet. If any rogue shoots start sprouting in a place I don't want them, I just mow them down to keep them in check.
Mine have a tendency to spread quite a bit; I've seen them go as far as 5-6 feet. They even manage to pop up under wide garden paths on either side. I usually give my extra plants away because, hey, who doesn't love raspberries?
That distance should be fine! I've noticed mine sending out runners about 3 feet away, but it seems manageable enough.
Same here! I have a pretty big raspberry patch, and if the runners reach outside of my stone edging, they get the mower—all good.