Pruning raspberries

I've got a very large raspberry patch. Every spring I prune the plants back to about 3 feet, clean out the old wood, and clear out those that have invaded the path between the rows. I always get a lovely crop of raspberries, and sometimes if we have a really mild fall, I get a second crop in the fall.

Many raspberries have escaped under the fence and are growing totally untended in sort of a "waste" space between the shed and the fench - behind some shrubs. Here's the thing - the "wild" raspberries are bigger than the tended raspberries.

What gives with that?

Do you prune your raspberries?

I do not prune my red Raspberries. I thin them to about 6 to 8 inches and that is all I do. I do prune my black raspberries. I tip them during the growing season to make them branch out and just finished pruning the branches back to 6 to 10 inches.

Cally, that is interesting to hear that you prune your raspberries to 3' - I have never heard of anyone doing that. The two standard methods are 1) prune to 3-6" (yes thats inches) and get a fall crop only, or 2) only prune out the dead canes and primarily get a June crop. I do the former with my fall-bearers (Caroline) and will do the latter with the new June bearers I just put in (Prelude). Your 3' pruning seems to not have much effect on getting an early crop. You may want to try not pruning some of them at all and see how those compare to the 3'-pruned ones.

As Red mentions, thinning is a very good thing to do, whatever the pruning method is -- I did not start out thinning and the yield got both smaller and smaller berries since the canes were also so small. Additionally throw on a bunch of manure or compost every spring. One of these two things could be why the "wild" ones are doing better -- either the main bed soil is worn out or they are too close together there.

Scott



This message was edited Mar 27, 2009 10:21 AM

I do get a crop of raspberries in July...I'll try not pruning them, but only thinning next time around and see what happens.

Cally
Thin now. It's not too late, just cut out canes until they are 6 to 8 inches apart and maybe give them a little fertilizer. If you thin now you will not damage the new canes which will be coming up soon.
RED