Raspberry Bushes to Cover a Fence

Benefits

• Raspberries cover up an unattractive fence. They create a thick hedge keeping unwanted animals from entering a yard, provide fruit, attract birds and create privacy around a garden or yard. Additionally, a fence helps hold raspberry plants upright so they grow most efficiently and produce more fruit.

Placement

• Raspberries grow best in full sunlight. Consider the direction a fence runs and whether it blocks sunlight from raspberry plants. A chain-link or wooden fence with many spaces in between the slats don't block much sun, but a solid wooden fence blocks too much sun if the gardener plants the raspberries to the north of the fence in the Northern Hemisphere.

Training

• Raspberries climb some fence types themselves, especially chain-link fences and fences with lots of crisscrossed wood for the plants to weave around. However, the University of Maine recommends loosely tying raspberry canes to many types of support systems, especially those with mostly vertical poles. If the raspberry plants do not start climbing the fence on their own, drape the vines over the fence as much as possible or tie the plants to the fence with twine.

Other Considerations

• The University of Wisconsin Extension recommends avoiding areas where water pools or the soil does not drain well. Make sure that rainwater does not collect at the base of the fence, especially if the fence sits at the bottom of a hill. Fences on hilltops or on slopes are more likely to have good soil drainage than fences at the bottom a slope. Give plants at least 2 feet of space between each other and provide even more space if fence supports or cement foundations take up lots of space underground.