pruning raspberries

Discussion in 'Fruit and Vegetable Gardening' started by Margaret, Mar 17, 2006.

  1. Margaret

    Margaret Active Member 10 Years

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    I pruned back the old canes after they had fruited last year and the new canes are growing quite tall. Yesterday I read in the local newspaper's gardening section that now is the time to prune raspberries. Should I be pruning the new growth and if so by how much?
    We love raspberries and want to get as many as possible!!
    Many thanks.
    Margaret
     
  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Probably talking about tipping back a bit to make them more manageable. This could have been done last fall, along with tying in. If you cut too much off you will lose some fruit potential, of course.
     
  3. Margaret

    Margaret Active Member 10 Years

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    Thanks Ron. A couple of the canes are getting pretty long so I'll nip them back and let the rest grow on.
    Margaret
     
  4. rosie333

    rosie333 Member

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    Hi Margaret, I am a first time user and I am very excited to be on this forum. Also, this is my first year for raspberries. What is a cane? Could it be one of the small branches (?) . Is that what is referred to as a cane? Thanks
     
  5. Margaret

    Margaret Active Member 10 Years

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    Hi Rosie
    A cane is basically the long growth that comes straight from the soil. I should say that I am no great expert but I do love rasps! From what I understand it is necessary to take out the old canes, from ground level and then tie in the new fresh canes which will fruit the next year. Rasps seem to produce a lot of new growth and it may be necessary to take out that which you cannot easily tie in, unless you want to end up with an ever increasing patch. You may want to post a picture of the rasps and who knows hopefully one of the experts, like Ron B, will answer!
    Isn't it fun to eat what you grow? The blackberries, which are a weed here, are starting to ripen, the grapes are filling out and the figs will be ready in a couple of weeks - bliss!
    Margaret
     
  6. rosie333

    rosie333 Member

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    Hi Margaret, thanks so much in explaining what a cane is. I really was scratching my head. I do understand what to do now. However, do rasp. multiply. It seems that everyone that has them here in NJ have bunches and bunches and do nothing to them, but eat them when they appear. If you have the inkling to let me know if they multiply please let me know.

    Thanks again.
     
  7. Eyeris

    Eyeris Active Member

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    Hi Rosie
    I am no expert either, but last year I cut my canes back and have been rewarded with a whole bunch of new growth..you will notice that in some cases tiny raspberry plants will pop up further out from the main cane stock....again I'm not sure if this is correct or not but I believe you can let these small ones grow if you want more fruit without causing any harm to the main canes....for me personally I pulled a lot of the plants that popped up out just becasue they were too far away from the main stocks to tie-up properly.
    good luck!
     
  8. Margaret

    Margaret Active Member 10 Years

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    Hi Rosie
    Eyeris and I have done the same thing with the same results ie a better crop the following year after pruning. Looking back at former posts on rasps it seems also to depend upon the type of rasps which one grows. I inherited mine so although I don't know the variety they look like regular old rasps to me!
    Have you asked your rasp growing neighbours what they do with their plants to produce lots of fruit?
    Good luck.
    Margaret
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2006
  9. karenzab

    karenzab New Member

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    I prune my raspberries back by 1/3 and I get a great crop.
    They end up growing 6-8 feet with lots of bearing fruit.
    The shoots that pop up where they aren't wanted , I pot up and give away.
    I live mid Vancouver Island.
     
  10. Rose Campion

    Rose Campion New Member

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    What do you feed them? We've inherited some raspberries with the house. We had a reasonable crop last year, but I'd like to maximize it.
     
  11. MANGLEDINAL

    MANGLEDINAL New Member

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    My mother would wait until the end of raspberry season and then mow the plants down. She learned that trick from our elderly neighbor who grew raspberries and sold them by the buckets all summer long and sometimes into the fall--about the time our apples were ready for picking.
     
  12. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Cutting down raspberry canes at the end of the growing season will only work for ever-bearing types. If you do that with June-bearers, you won't get any fruit. Even with the ever-bearers, that method results in the loss of the early crop, which fruits on last year's canes.
     
  13. MANGLEDINAL

    MANGLEDINAL New Member

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    i don't recall which raspberries my mom had or which ones our neighbor had, but both mowed down the plants every year. And every year the plants came back. The crop was always big, juicy and perfect raspberries.
    I will say that I tried mowing down my first crop of raspberries and they sort of came back. I may have mowed too closely. It may have been because my mom's berries were grown in southern Michigan, and I was trying to grow them in Miami and now in central AL.
    If you have a little time, maybe you could give me some tips. I would deeply appreciate that.
    Take good care.
    Mary
     
  14. sleepdeficit2

    sleepdeficit2 Member

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    I tie my canes over and attach them to the fence they are growing beside so that the top metre of the cane is horizontal. I was told that this increases fruit production. I don't know how much fruit we would get otherwise, but we get a ton of fruit doing it this way.
     
  15. Delvi83

    Delvi83 Active Member

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    Rasperry are biennial plants....this means that the first year canes are produced (without flowering)....the second year these canes make a short vegetation and bear flower and fruits, then they die and other canes are produced......the cycle repeats.
    In the winter you should remove the canes that have pruduced fruits (they will be died anyway), and shorten the 1 year old canes !!

    P.s.

    Some cultivars have a double fruits production.....also the 1 year old canes bear flowers.
     

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