Prune
Raspberries for an Abundant Harvest
By Melinda Myers
Send a link to a friend
[July 12, 2024]
A bit of summer pruning goes a long way to
keeping your raspberries healthy and productive. So, get out the
mosquito netting, long sleeves, and pruners and get busy.
|
The
summer harvest is produced on 2-year-old canes called floricanes.
Remove those that bore fruit to ground level once your harvest is
complete. These canes will not produce more fruit and their presence
can increase the risk of insect and disease problems. This is also a
good time to remove damaged, insect-infested, or discolored canes.
Summer is also a good time to thin the remaining canes on
summer-only bearing raspberries. Remove weak or damaged canes,
leaving three or four of the sturdiest canes per foot of row or six
or eight stems per hill when growing in the hill system. Thinning
increases airflow and light penetration, resulting in healthier
plants and a better harvest next season. Wait until next spring to
reduce the height of the remaining canes. At that time, you can
determine winter dieback, and damage, and prune accordingly.
Everbearing raspberries are often called fall raspberries and form
fruit on first-year canes called primocanes. You can manage these
types of raspberries for a single fall harvest only. Wait until the
plants are dormant then cut the whole planting back to ground level.
There will be a larger and earlier harvest when pruning everbearing
raspberries this way. Although this pruning technique eliminates the
summer crop, it is much easier, less time-consuming, and eliminates
animal and winter damage in just one cut.
The other option is to prune everbearing raspberries for a fall and
summer harvest. The new growth produces the fall crop. These canes
are left to produce berries the following summer. Prune these
two-year-old canes after the summer harvest as you would on a
summer-only bearing raspberry.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/13/images/ads/current/longview_lda_HEROES_2024.png)
Maximize your summer and fall harvest by planting a
summer and a fall-bearing raspberry patch. You’ll enjoy summer
raspberries from one planting plus a larger, earlier harvest from
the fall-bearing raspberries when pruning all those canes to ground
level each year during the dormant season.
Don’t let a lack of space keep you from growing delicious
raspberries high in fiber and vitamin C. Plant, train, and use
raspberries as a hedge in your landscape. Or grow the new compact
and thornless Raspberry Shortcakeâ in a container or any sunny small
space in your garden. You may not be freezing a large harvest from a
single pot of raspberries, but you will enjoy fresh-from-the-garden
raspberries even in your small space.
Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Midwest
Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She
hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD
series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio
program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds &
Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
[Text from file received from
] |