Rubus (idaeus)

Mark E. Majerus USDA NRCS - Bridger Plant Materials Center 99 South River Road, Rte. 2, Box 1189 Bridger, Montana 59014-9718 (406) 662-3579 (406) 662-3428 (fax) mmajerus@mt.nrcs.usda.gov http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/mtpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Rosaceae
Family Common Name:	Rose Family
Scientific Name:	Rubus idaeus L.
Common Name:	American red raspberry
Species Code:	RUBIDA
Ecotype:	Ecotype from the Old Faithful Overlook area of Yellowstone National Park.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	vegetative
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	One-gallon and 4.5-inch azalea pots, depending on plant size.
Time To Grow:	0
Propagule Collection:	Collect semihardwood summer cuttings in early August. Take 6- to 10-inch long cuttings with a basal diameter of at least 0.25 inches. Place the cuttings inside a ziplock bag moistened with water, and then store in a portable cooler packed with ice. Store the cooler in a shaded location such as the back of a pickup with a camper top. Minimize storage time. The cuttings we collected were held in the cooler less than 16 hours before being moved to a walk-in cooler maintained at 34 to 37øF and 80+% relative humidity. Inspect each bag periodically to assure high humidity and re-moisten as necessary. We collect cuttings from numerous individual plants in an attempt to sample to the diversity of the ecotype. Our use of summer cuttings reflects limited access to plants in the winter months in Yellowstone National Park. Cuttings collected at other times of the year may propagate as well or
Propagule Processing:	See Pre-Planting Treatments.
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Trim all cuttings to a 5- to 8-inch length. Remove all buds, leaves, and branches from the basal 2 to 3 in. of each cutting. Remove all flowers and fruit, when present, as well. Store the cuttings in moistened paper towels during processing. Recut the base of each stem cutting at an angle with a sharp knife and wound the basal end of the stem with a shallow 1- to 1.5-inch cut just below the cambium layer. Lightly spray the wound with water from a mist bottle, shake off excess water, and then insert the base into rooting compound. Remove excess hormone by lightly tapping the end of the cutting on the side of a hard surface. Our trial treatments included semihardwood tissue treated with 2,000 ppm NAA + 40,400 ppm ThiramT (fungicide) or 16,000 ppm IBA. The number of cuttings per treatment ranged from 16 to 26. Rooting ranged from 27% (22 cuttings treated with 16,000 ppm IBA) to 69% (13 cuttings treated with 2,000 ppm NAA + 40,400 ppm ThiramT). A substantial percentage of rooted cuttings perished before transplanted, apparently succumbing to rot.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	A 100% coarse perlite propagation media was used in our trial, although any sterile, highly drained media, such as sand or vermiculite, should work equally well. Moisten the media and make holes toreceive each cutting. Use bottom heat to maintain the propagation media at 70øF for the first 8 to 12 weeks in the bed (root initiation phase) and then turn it off. We use overhead intermittent mist activated by a Mist-o-maticT controller. Firm the media around each cutting after sticking to assure good cutting:media contact. Maintain the greenhouse at 70 to 75øF days and 60 to 65øF nights on 14- to 16-hour photoperiods.
Establishment Phase:	Cuttings initiate roots within 12 weeks, and are heavily rooted after 16 to 20 weeks. This species produces medium to fine textured roots. Fertigate the cuttings once or twice each week with 150 to 250 ppm 9-45-15 as soon as budbreak occurs. Because we let these plants remain active in the greenhouse over the winter, we waited until late January to transplant them into pots in a commercial peat-lite mix.The plants were moved to a shade house in May for hardening off and finishing.
Length of Establishment Phase:	Allow a minimum of 4 months from time of sticking before potting up.
Hardening Phase:	Move containerized rooted cuttings grown in the greenhouse that winter to an outdoor hoophouse in late spring/early summer (i.e. "finish" the plants in the hoophouse). The hoophouse is ventilated but not cooled, and the containers are usually exposed to full sunlight for 2 to 4 weeks early in the season. The hoophouse is then covered with a 50% shade cloth until temperatures cool in the fall. Another option is to finish container plants and rooted cuttings in the greenhouse and then move them to the shadehouse in late summer, allowing 30 to 60 days of hardening prior to winter. The shade is usually removed in late summer/early fall and replaced with clear plastic. The plants harden-off gradually in the hoophouse prior to winter. Bridger is characterized by a high number of solar days that keeps the environment inside the hoophouse relatively mild until winter.In the case of premature and severely cold weather, a small propane heater is used at keep temperatures above freezing.
Length of Hardening Phase:	As a standard practice, we allow a minimum of 30 days of hardening off prior to killing frost, 60 days is preferred.
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	We overwinter rooted cuttings in 1- to 2-gal containers in an outdoor hoophouse. The hoophouse is ventilated when temperatures reach 35 to 40øF and heated to maintain a temperature of 5 to 10øF. The containers are placed on 2 inches of pea gravel and arranged in a side-by-side pattern. The stock is watered over the fall and winter as needed. If temperatures in the spring are too warm to assure dormancy, plant material that is designated for dormant spring planting is moved to a walk-in cooler (34 to 37øF, 80+% relative humidity) until shipping. Plants may be shipped with or without containers in heavy waxed boxes by priority ground mail (avoid weekend holdover at post offices).
Length of Storage:	This species overwinters well in 1-gal pots as previously described and has stored well in a cooler for approximately 4 weeks prior to shipping as dormant stock.
Other Comments:	: Moderately easy to propagate by stem cuttings. Better results in our limited trials with 2,000 ppm NAA + 40,400 ppm ThiramT.

Citation:

Scianna, Joe. 2003. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Rubus idaeus L. plants One-gallon and 4.5-inch azalea pots, depending on plant size.; USDA NRCS - Bridger Plant Materials Center Bridger, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/07/01). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.