A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Berry question- any suggestions?

I recently purchased raspberries and black berries online. They came to me as sticks with roots or a single cane I suppose. They are planted in raised beds with 5-6 hours of sun a day. They are planted in a soil, compost and peat moss mixture and recieve daily watering. They are just sitting there doing nothing after about 30 days. The grapes I received at the same time are doing the same thing- nothing. The information that came with them when they were shipped said they were "dormant" but I am wondering if I should be concerned or if I am just impatient? Is there any way of checking them to see if anything is happening with out digging them up or do I just need to chill out? Thanks in advance any and all advice.

I have done quite a few berry plants in a similiar fashion.

1) did you clip/trim any roots before planting?
2) was there any root growth that appeared to be fresh?
3) are the canes solid or do they have a hole on top?
4) were you offered a guarantee of any kind?

After 30days, in this warm weather there should have been some noticeable growth or bud starting to open. I'd dig it up and check for fresh roots starting. You can safely cut down on the stalk to see if they are green as you near the base.

Thank you for the response. I didnot clip the roots before planting, I soaked them overnight in water. The canes do not have a hole in the top and there is a guarantee. I emailed the distributor but have not heard back as of yet. I will dig one up and look at the roots to see if there is any new growth. Thanks

I ordered a gooseberry from Gurney's and when I received it, it looked like a big dead twig with some roots. I followed their directions and it took almost 2 months, but it is doing fine now.

I hope you didn't get them from eburgess.com, they are bad news. I am still trying to get them to replace dead plants they sent me even though they are guaranteed.

I purchased some black raspberry plants earlier this year. Some of the "sticks" looked dead and apparently were, but the plants eventually sent up new stems from the roots.