Pruning raspberries

Method

Illinois Extension (Illinois): the basic rule in summer bearing raspberries is that fruit is produced on the cane in the second year of the cane's growth, then that cane dies and should be removed. Red and yellow raspberries should be pruned twice a year. Early spring pruning should remove weak canes and then a second pruning should be done right after harvest to remove canes that have fruited. Do not summer prune, or what's often called topping, red or yellow raspberries. Method.

Method

Illinois Extension (Illinois): another option with everbearing cultivars is to grow them for a fall crop only. All canes can be removed in late fall so only the fall crop is used. Method.

Method

Illinois Extension (Illinois): purple and black raspberries require pruning three times a year. In addition to spring and after-harvest pruning, they also require summer topping. All new shoots should be pinched back in summer 3 to 4 inches once they have reached desired height. Method.

Limit

Illinois caring-for-raspberries page. Cane-cutting methods only.

Method

University of Minnesota Extension (Minnesota): summer-bearing red and yellow: after the last harvest, cut all canes that have produced fruit to ground level and remove them. Thin primocanes to 4 to 5 sturdy canes per foot of row. Before growth starts in spring, cut the canes to about 12 inches above the support. Method.

Method

University of Minnesota Extension (Minnesota): fall-bearing: if only a fall crop is desired, cut all canes off at the base before growth begins in spring. Method.

Method

University of Minnesota Extension (Minnesota): black and purple: when primocanes are between 24 to 30 inches in height, pinch out the tip of each shoot. After harvest, cut down all canes that bore fruit to ground level. Before growth begins the following spring, cut back all side branches so they are 12 to 18 inches long. Select 4 to 5 canes per hill. Method.

Limit

Minnesota growing-raspberries page. Cane-cutting methods only.

Method

NC State Extension (North Carolina): thin fruiting canes in late winter or early spring before they start to grow. Remove all weak canes and thin the strong canes so they are 4–6 inches apart over the width of the row; narrow rows if necessary to 15–18 inches wide. Remove fruiting canes at the end of harvest. Make cuts close to the ground; leave 3 or 4 of the sturdiest canes per ft of row. Method.

Method

NC State Extension (North Carolina): everbearing types may be annually pruned by mowing or cutting off all canes at or slightly below the soil surface late each fall. Black raspberries: summer prune by pinching back in June when new shoots reach 18 to 24 inches. After harvest, remove canes that have just fruited. In winter before growth starts, cut back side branches, leaving two to six buds (8 to 12 inches long) per cane. Method.

Limit

North Carolina raspberries-in-the-home-garden page. Cane-cutting methods only.

Method

University of Maine Cooperative Extension (Maine): in the late winter or early spring, before the buds break, remove all of the old canes that fruited the previous year. These have gray, peeling bark and branches. Maintain a 12- to 18-inch row width. Continue thinning until only four to five canes per foot of row length remain. Method.

Method

University of Maine Cooperative Extension (Maine): everbearing raspberries can be managed to produce only the fall crop. Simply mow all the canes down early each spring. During the summer, cut down any new canes that develop outside the 12- to 18-inch row width and thin the remaining canes to about six inches apart, leaving the sturdiest. Method.

Limit

Maine bulletin 2066 raspberry clauses only. Cane-cutting methods only.