transplanting from pot to garden

Question

I recently bought raspberries in 7″ deep, 6″ wide pots, 1 plant per pot. When removed from the pot, the roots below the crown were tightly encased in a compact diet wad the size of the pot. So which approach is better – plant the entire wad as is. or try to remove as much of the dirt wad as possible (it doesn’t come off easily} before planting so as to “free” the roots? Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

It sounds like the plants got root bound in their pots. Try to separate and spread the roots out as much as you can with your hands without breaking them. (If a few do break, it's not the end of the world). When you plant the canes, spread the roots out horizontally across the bottom of the hole.

You can read more about planting raspberries here: https://extension.illinois.edu/raspberries/planting.cfm