Planting Boysenberries – How To Transplant Potted Boysenberry Bushes
I recently acquired some potted boysenberry bushes from a local farm to plant on our property. Boysenberries are so easy to grow. With full sun, good drainage, and something to climb, planting boysenberries in your yard will yield delicious fruit year after year to eat as a snack or make into pies, cobblers, and jams.
Planting Boysenberries – How-To
- Choose a spot to plant your boysenberry that is in full sun where your boysenberry will have something to climb. I chose to plant my boysenberries against a fence for climbing, but you could also put up a cattle panel or trellis. Boysenberries also prefer a soil pH of 6-7, so make sure to have your soil tested before planting. Google “soil testing extension office” to find soil testing near you. If you’re planting multiple boysenberries, space them 3-5 ft apart.
- Start by digging a hole slightly wider than the pot that your boysenberry bush is currently living in. You’ll want the current soil level of the pot to be slightly higher than the soil level of your hole.
3. Take your pot out of the hole and sprinkle some compost on the bottom.
4. Place the your boysenberry in the pot on top of your compost and fill the hole in around the pot with soil. The soil level in the pot should be slightly higher than the soil level of the ground.
5. Take the pot out of the hole and take your boysenberry bush out of the pot. Set your plant down in the hole and pack it in with dirt.
6. Water-in your newly planted boysenberry immediately after planting.
Watering Your Newly Planted Boysenberries
Boysenberries are not drought tolerant, but also do not like to be waterlogged. Make sure your soil is consistently moist for your boysenberries to thrive.
- For the first week or two you will need to keep the soil around your newly planted boysenberries moist. This will require watering every day or every other day.
- After the first couple of weeks your boysenberries will need approximately 1-2 inches of water per week. Check on them a few times per week to ensure their soil stays moist, but not waterlogged.
- Boysenberry leaves do not like water. Water your boysenberry plants in the morning and water them from below, close to the soil
You should not water your boysenberry bushes with tap water if your water contains chlorine. Learn how to build a DIY rain barrel here if you’re on city water.
Gardening With Littles
My toddler loves berries, so having berry bushes on our property keeps us from going bankrupt on his berry habit. Let your little ones help dig the hole for planting their boysenberry bushes using a small child-sized trowel. It’s so much fun to get dirty and let them help pack in the hole around the pot and then around the plant in the next step. Let your little one learn where their food comes from by using their own little watering can to keep the soil moist and then enjoy the fruits of their labor by helping pick the boysenberries when they’re ripe.
Feedback
How was your first boysenberry harvest? Let me know in the comments below!
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