raspberries in their first year

[ashleighParticipant]

hello,

my RHS book says ‘in the first spring when new shoots appear, cut down the old canes to ground level. you will forgo fruit in the first year but they will establish better’. it’s not really clear whether they mean do this for both summer & autumn varieties.

with my summer rasps, only about half of them have produced new shoots so far (we are having a super late season up here though). although the growth from the old canes looks reasonable (though a bit brown around the edges compared with the nice bright green new growth). so with the ones that have produced new shoots, i cut down the old yesterday.

and with the autumn ones, they have all produced new shoots, but my book is unclear about what to do – should i cut down the old?

thanks for any advice!

[charlesModerator]

 The RHS book sounds confusing but it is simple really.

The first para you quote is for summer raspberries, and you have indeed removed the old canes (which would have fruited) as you say in second para.

Good that your autumn rasp’s have all produced new leaves, don’t prune them as they should give you fruit by August and September, even if you planted them this spring. 

Canes which I planted last December (autumn fruiting) are half dead from the March ice, so you are doing well. I think we had a milder January and February here, encouraging early bud swelling which then got destroyed in March. Steady winter cold is better!

[Author]

Posts