Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:29 pm
Oh no! Autumn is already here and forgot to cut the raspberries. Now the question arises as to how to proceed. Let the hedge rest or still quickly cut back before winter?
- as a rule, in the case of summer varieties, the worn canes are cut back after harvesting
- Note differences between varieties
- raspberries survive one or more years without appropriate pruning
- denser branching, however, makes harvesting in the following year more difficult
- lower yield without pruning, as the plant invests a lot of energy in old canes.
Contents
- 1 Difference summer and autumn raspberries
- 2 Pruning after the next harvest
- 3 Frequently asked questions
- 4 It's already November, can I still cut the raspberries now?
- 5 New shoots are already showing on the old canes, may I still prune?
- 6 I did not cut my raspberries last year, now they look very desolate?
- 7 Author
Difference summer and autumn raspberries
Not all raspberries are the same. Thus, there are the summer varieties that bear their fruit, as the name suggests, in the summer. In addition, there are also the plants that ripen their tasty fruits only in autumn. Here there are other important differences, which are also not insignificant for the time of cutting:
- Summer raspberries bear fruit on two-year-old canes
- here the one-year-old canes are left standing
- only the biennial ones are removed
- Autumn raspberries show on one-year-old shoots
- thus all shoots are removed in the year
- all shoots are cut
Note: So, you can assume with the two raspberry varieties that the summer raspberries will remain standing as a hedge even after pruning, while the fall varieties will be cut back to the base altogether.
Pruning summer varieties
Actually, early fall is the appropriate pruning time for summer varieties. If pruning is done later, then frost can quickly strike the intersections and the bushes could suffer damage in this way. Therefore, if after the harvest was forgotten to cut the raspberry bushes, then this can still be done in the spring:
- before the new shoots
- in early spring
- remove the dry wood
- leave everything that is in the sap.
Note: If you forget to prune your raspberries after harvest, then unfortunately this will always be to the detriment of the next harvest.
Pruning autumn varieties
For fall varieties of raspberries, the ideal time to prune is different than for summer varieties. Although many amateur gardeners also cut these bushes already in the fall after harvest, the appropriate time here looks different:
- Pruning only after winter
- late winter or early spring
- before the next budding
Note: So here you have not forgotten to prune their autumn varieties, if you have not cut the bushes in the fall after harvest. This is quite normal and even recommended by garden experts.
Pruning after the next harvest
If the raspberries were not cut back after the harvest in the previous year, then this will not harm the plants. So the old canes can simply remain on the bush:
- next summer after the harvest
- for raspberries from the fall after the winter
- then cut everything that no longer bears
- from the previous year and from the current year
Tip: If you skip pruning one year, then the next year cut normally, as it should be. This will allow the raspberry bushes to regenerate and grow normally the following year.
Frequently asked questions
It's already November, can I still cut the raspberries now?
Since in November there may already be significant night frosts, pruning of the summer varieties at this time is no longer recommended. In such a case, the raspberries survive the winter better uncut. This is because frost can penetrate through the cuts and thus damage the plants in the worst case. However, an uncut raspberry bush can certainly cope well with frost and snow.
New shoots are already showing on the old canes, may I still prune?
If you have forgotten to prune until spring, then the new shoots will show. In the case of summer raspberries, you can definitely remove the old, worn canes, because they are already dry and no longer have any use. In the autumn raspberries, the fruits appear on one-year-old shoots. Again, it is possible to remove the old canes while they are still dry.
I did not cut my raspberries last year, now they look very desolate?
This is normal. If the bushes were not cut one year, then the new rods grow over the old ones and everything looks like grown into each other and confused. Of course, then the pruning after the next harvest will be a lot more troublesome for you, because with summer raspberries you need to separate the old and the new canes. It is easier with the autumn varieties, where all the canes are cut to the base.