Pruning Raspberries.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BEQFJ 17 October 2012 Pruning Raspberries.
Raspberries are finished producing for the 2012 year. The vegetation is cut to ground level. New vigorous growth begins in he Spring of 2013 and the plants bear fruit starting in September until frost. The vegetation was put through the chipper/shreder and added to the compost pile. The plants were heavily mulched with wood chips to retain moisture.

Pruning raspberries
Summer-fruiting raspberries fruit on one-year-old canes that are cut out after harvest and then replaced by the young canes.
Autumn-fruiting varieties are cut to the ground in late winter to make way for new canes that will grow from the base and fruit the same year.

 

[ninnymary]

Durgan, pruning raspberries is one of the things that I'm scared about. This spring I planted 2 Heritage, and 1 Fall Gold. I also planted a thornless blackberry. All of them only grew a couple feet. The Heritage and Fall Gold produced a couple of berries, just enough for me to taste them!

We have almost no winter here. The winters are mild and plants don't really go into dormancy. My roses bloom even in the winter. It seems to be that you prune both types of berries within only a couple of months in between. Since my plants are so small, should I prune them? Can I prune both at the same time, say December?

Mary

 

[Durgan]

Durgan, pruning raspberries is one of the things that I'm scared about. This spring I planted 2 Heritage, and 1 Fall Gold. I also planted a thornless blackberry. All of them only grew a couple feet. The Heritage and Fall Gold produced a couple of berries, just enough for me to taste them!

We have almost no winter here. The winters are mild and plants don't really go into dormancy. My roses bloom even in the winter. It seems to be that you prune both types of berries within only a couple of months in between. Since my plants are so small, should I prune them? Can I prune both at the same time, say December?

Mary

It took me awhile to decide what type of raspberry I had (Fall Bearing). In your case, for sure, at least remove the stems that had berries and leave the remainder of the vegetation.

I have two thornless blackberry also, and am still a bit confused about pruning them. Mine are four years old and very bushy and large so I will prune a bit of the excessive vegetation sort of following my nose.

I prune raspberries almost immediately after production has ceased, but I don't think it is critical. It is a no brainer for me, since dormancy is from now until about the 15 of March.

This is my production from about ten plants, planted about six years ago.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ZEZQE 2 October 2012 Raspberry Picked 22 Ounces.
The little raspberry patch is still producing. Twenty two ounces picked today. This is probably the end of the season except for a few isolated berries before the frost arrives.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?YSDTG 30 September 2012 Raspberry Picked today.
Total from this patch is about 13 pounds. Two pounds 14 pounces or 46 ounces.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QGYEV 23 September 2012 Raspberry. Raspberries picked on 26,31 August. 2,13,15, 20, 23 September.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?KUILB 23 September 2012 Raspberry
The small raspberry patch 3 feet by 8 feet has produced about 10 pounds of berries over the last month and more are available if the killing frost holds off.The berries are put through the Champion Juicer to remove the seeds to make a dessert or milk shake.The berries must be processed immediately since mold forms quickly.

 

[ninnymary]

Durgan, how many raspberry plants do you have? It seems like 2 won't produce that many? But I don't have any room for more plants.

Mary

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I bought 20 canes for $1 each in spring of 2010. I got raspberries and did not cut anything until next spring. I cut out very little that had no leaves. They had spread all over the place. That year I had a lot of raspberries. Again, I did not cut anything until this spring and took out the dead. I did not cut anything back. They were taller than the shed this year. Had gallons of them. Here is what they looked like in June.

 

[Durgan]

Durgan, how many raspberry plants do you have? It seems like 2 won't produce that many? But I don't have any room for more plants.

Mary

I started with about 8 small plants from another person's garden. They spread over time. From two plants you will get several quarts of berries. Each year is different. My patch is only 3 by 8 feet and I get around 15 quarts. My preference is for the thornless blackberries on a concrete mesh trellis in some convenient area.