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We have some raspberry canes growing in a space in our yard and while doing some work this summer I removed some thorn bushes and stunted trees that were taking up sun, which was great for the raspberries since they flourished in the past two months. With the space we ended up putting some blueberry bushes since I had the space, and its fairly sunny, but now I am wondering if the raspberry bushes will be ok. Our soil is slightly acidic so I figure the raspberries can handle it, but if I am watering the blueberries will any acidic fertilizer I give them cause problems for the raspberries?

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Yes, in short. These fruiting plants are not natural bedfellows: Raspberries prefer alkaline soil conditions, so the acidity required to grow blueberries successfully will not suit them. You could plant Blackberries instead of blueberries, they will thrive where raspberries do, and plant the blueberry elsewhere.

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what are you basing the alkaline soil preference of raspberries on? Everything I've read elsewhere says raspberries prefer mildly acidic pH. Is this personal experience or do you have some info on alkaline raspberry soil you could link to? – WebChemist Apr 16 at 22:01
Well it just goes to show that despite being a pedantic person, at times I'm not pedantic enough! I should accurately have said 'raspberries prefer more alkaline soil...". The optimum ph level for raspberries is 5.6 to 6.2, as for most other cane fruits. Blueberries require 4.09 to 5.0. This information is freely available everywhere - the RHS, University of Maine, Blueberry Growing Association USA. and so on. – Bamboo Apr 17 at 12:07
Or even more accurately, "raspberries prefer more alkaline soil conditions than blueberries..." – Bamboo Apr 17 at 12:46
ok so just less acidic (I wouldn't use alkaline since both are still under pH 7). I have checked out many different sources and they all seem to vary on what range pH berries need so I'm a bit confused on who to trust... – WebChemist Apr 18 at 18:44

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