Raspberries are a healthy and tasty food that are normally produced from cuttings, but, as they produce their own seeds, you may have wondered if it’s possible to grow your own raspberry bushes from store bought fruits.
You can grow raspberries from the fruits that you buy at the store and it’s easy to do once you have extracted the seeds. Within a few weeks you can have your own raspberry canes which will soon produce tasty raspberry fruits.
How to grow raspberries from store bought fruit
Purchase some good quality, organic raspberries from the store
Using a sieve squeeze the berries against the side gently to extract the seeds from the pulp
Wash the seeds carefully with fresh water and place them onto kitchen roll to dry off
Sprinkle the dry seeds onto trays of watered compost and place in a warm place
Keep the compost moist and, when the seedlings are large enough transplant them into larger pots of compost to grow on
For the first year keep the raspberry plants sheltered, away from cold winds and frost and, in the spring of the second year, once all frost has passed, plant them into the garden in a partially sheltered spot.
They will continue to grow and flower and produce fruit.
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Why can you grow raspberries from store bought fruit?
Raspberries are a hardy plant and, as long as the fruit is not damaged, it should have plenty of seeds within it.
The seeds have been known to remain viable for up to 10 years so even if the fruit has been kept in storage for a while you should still end up with plenty of raspberry seedlings.
All you need to do is extract the seeds and place them onto some compost where they will sprout.
They can also be pot up like other fruit plants if you would prefer to grow your raspberries indoors which, although not as likely to produce such large fruits, can still provide a tasty result.
Will raspberries come true from seed?
Although raspberry plants can be propagated from seed, they rarely produce true to type.
This means that the variety of raspberry plant that you grow from the seeds may not be exactly the same as it was when acquired at the store.
If you only want to grow one particular variety of raspberry such as a golden fruited variety then it’s best to purchase this type of raspberry plant rather than take your chances with seeds from store bought fruits.
But if you are happy to let nature take its course and enjoy the process, then growing raspberries from store bought fruit is easy to do.
Will raspberries come back every year?
Yes, raspberries are perennial plants and will grow year on year.
However you should note that the canes that fruit will only fruit once and after fruiting these canes should be pruned back to the ground.
The new canes that grow up will produce the next batch of raspberries.
How long do raspberry plants live?
Raspberry plants will grow for between three and five years, providing plenty of juicy fruits along the way.
In fact you could keep a raspberry plant going for as long as you want, just by propagating from cuttings taken from existing canes.
The best time to do this is in the spring once all frost has passed.
Don’t worry if you miss this opportunity though, as it is possible to propagate raspberries from cuttings all year round.
The cuttings will start producing fruiting canes within a year.
What else can I grow raspberries in?
Although most people think of raspberry plants simply being grown in the ground, they are also very happy to grow in large containers.
This means that you can grow raspberries in the garden if you have the space for them or in pots on a patio or windowsill.
If you are growing your raspberry plants indoors then it is best to choose a variety that bears fruit throughout the year so you can enjoy fresh fruit all year round.
If you are growing raspberries in the ground then they should be put into a hole that’s about 30 centimetres deep and wide and filled with plenty of well rotted compost or manure.
You can repeat this process every year and, once your raspberries start producing their first fruit, pinch out the growing tip to encourage new canes.
Raspberries do produce suckers so, once your raspberry plants are established they will spread out and produce more fruit.
Do you need to feed raspberries?
Plants grown in the garden will enjoy a mulch with manure or rotted compost during the late winter and spring.
If you grow raspberries in containers then a general, soluble fertilizer should be used when the flowers form.
Final Words
Growing raspberries from store bought fruit is easy to do and is a cheap way of getting good quality raspberry plants.
It will take several months before plants grown from seeds are large enough to produce fruit and, you may wish to consider getting raspberry canes from your local garden center if you want to enjoy fresh raspberries sooner than this.