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The ability of raspberries to grow rapidly, its unpretentiousness and resistance to pests confuse many summer residents who naively believe that such a plant will do without additional care. If you look closely at the chaotically overgrown raspberries, you can see that there are very few berries among the leaves. This means that the amount of the crop does not depend on the green mass and the density of the bushes, on the contrary, a properly cut raspberry bears fruit much better. Most gardeners trim their bushes in the spring, but many experts recommend doing this in the fall as well.
Do I need to prune raspberries in the fall and how to properly prune raspberries in the fall – these are the main topics of the article.
When to prune raspberries: in autumn or spring
This question cannot be answered unambiguously, because it is necessary to prune raspberries according to the rules of agricultural technology several times throughout the season. As a rule, this is done in order to prevent excessive thickening of the bushes, and also by pruning stimulate the emergence of new shoots on which berries form.
The development cycle of an ordinary perennial raspberry is two years: annual shoots appear in spring, they are green, flexible, do not bear fruit, but flower stalks and ovaries are just formed on two-year-old stems.
It can be unequivocally argued that leaving dry branches in the raspberry tree that did not have time to bear fruit, damaged and fallen leaves is completely wrong. All this can become a source of infection, insects often start up in the waste, fungus and mold spread.
In addition to this obvious reason, autumn pruning of raspberries is also performed in order to thin out the bushes, get rid of old shoots, and shorten annual branches.
In general, caring for raspberries in the fall is as follows:
- Removal of dry and damaged branches.
- Shortening of annual shoots.
- Cutting under the root of old two-year-old stems.
- Bush formation.
- Control the gaps between the bushes and between adjacent rows of raspberries.
- Shelter bushes for the winter.
Usually remontant raspberry varieties are pruned in autumn, but ordinary two-year-old bushes also need such processing.
Why raspberry pruning is necessary in the fall
“Should I prune raspberries in the fall?” many gardeners ask themselves. After all, it is so pitiful to remove only strengthened shoots, to shorten overgrown bushes. It is necessary to remember one important rule: “Raspberries must be looked after.” And one of the main stages of care is the autumn pruning of bushes.
Do not feel sorry for your raspberries and leave all the branches. Removing dry and damaged branches in the fall and shortening the stems in the spring is not enough for a bountiful harvest of raspberries. With this approach, the number of berries will be maximum only for two years (the life span of a raspberry bush), after which the amount of the crop will decline sharply – it will be possible to collect only 20-30% of what it was in previous years.
Raspberry bushes constantly need to be updated, removing two-year-old shoots and stimulating the development and growth of one-year-old young branches. A lot of branches is not an indicator of productivity. On the contrary, green shoots take away strength from the bush, the berries on such raspberries will be small and not so tasty.
How to prune raspberries in autumn
The amount of harvest, as well as how much effort will have to be made in the spring, largely depends on how to properly cut raspberries in the fall.
If you cut raspberry bushes in the fall, observing all the requirements of agricultural technology, then in the spring the gardener will only have to remove the frozen stems and thin out the bushes a little. In order for there to be a lot of berries on the bushes, no more than ten stems should grow from one rhizome.
And then, for the good development of such a number of shoots, raspberries need to be fertilized abundantly, because the microelements contained in the soil are not enough for several kilograms of berries. That’s why it is advisable to leave no more than 5-6 shoots in each bush.
Pruning raspberries in the fall for beginners:
- Cut off all diseased stems, as well as dry branches affected by insects or with signs of a fungal infection. Raspberries are highly prone to infection with fungal spores, this is facilitated by the thickening of the plantings and the strong foliage of the shoots. To prevent infection of the bushes, it is necessary to plan pruning correctly: the branches should not overlap each other, but should be fanned out.
- Branches damaged or broken by the wind must also be removed – they are cut off at the root, leaving no stumps. If this is not done, the damaged shoot will draw a lot of strength from the whole plant, and the raspberries from this branch will still be small and tasteless.
- It is better to cut at the root and all two-year-old shoots. Do this immediately after harvesting raspberries.
- Whether or not to cut young annual shoots depends on the climatic characteristics of the region. If the winter is warm, you can leave them as they are, after tying them together to protect them from the wind. In cold regions, it is recommended to cover raspberries by shortening the young shoots before that. Annual stems do not have time to become woody, so they easily freeze and disappear.
- Those shoots that appeared in the raspberries in the middle of summer should also be cut out – they would still be of no use. These shoots are too weak and fragile to survive the winter.
Raspberry digging
An alternative to autumn pruning of shoots is digging raspberry bushes. This procedure is performed not only in the fall, for efficiency, digging is carried out every two months.
The essence of this method lies in the fact that raspberries shoot new shoots from the root. If you cut all the shoots with a bayonet shovel, digging to a depth of up to 25 cm, then there is a high probability that the young shoots will not disturb the idyll of the bushes.
Proper pruning in this way guarantees the neatness of the bushes in the spring – raspberries do not grow in the aisles, the bushes look neat and well-groomed. If you dig raspberry bushes every two months, you can skip the autumn pruning. After harvesting, it remains only to remove dry and damaged branches.
A complex approach
As mentioned earlier, autumn pruning of raspberries is very important, but this is not the only care measure.
To make the berries juicy and large, you will have to cut the raspberries several times a season:
- Before the onset of frost, broken and damaged branches are removed, diseased bushes are cut out, as well as shoots that have appeared in the aisles.
- In the spring, after the frosts end, you can proceed to the next stage of pruning. At this stage, old stems are cut out, young annual shoots are shortened, thereby opening a new growth point and stimulating stem branching.
- The next time the pruner is picked up is when the raspberry stalks grow too strong. This can happen at the end of May or in July – the only important thing is that the length of the shoots should not exceed 80-90 cm. As soon as the shoot is shortened by at least 10 cm, the growth of lateral processes is stimulated – the bush grows in the right direction, there are more and more berries .
- In the last days of September, these side shoots should also be shortened, by this time they should grow by 40-50 cm. They do this so that the stem thickens and overgrows with bark, preparing for the winter cold.
As a result of such complex pruning, raspberry bushes will grow in a controlled manner. As a result, the shoots should look like a fan: 4-5 new shoots grow from each branch. All young shoots are covered with berries, which increases the yield of raspberries at times.
The final stage
After pruning, it remains only to cover the raspberries, preparing them for the winter cold. There are situations when it is better to leave the bushes as they are – when the winters in the region are warm and temperatures may rise to above zero levels. In this case, condensation will appear under the covering material, which will provoke infection of the raspberry with a fungus, the development of rot and mold.
In most regions, it is recommended to cover raspberries with the onset of cold weather. First, the branches are tied together and grouped into piles, then the raspberries are covered with agrofiber or other impermeable material. This will protect the plants from icing and strong winds.
It is very effective to bend the raspberry bushes to the ground, but it can only be done at an air temperature above +5 degrees, otherwise the stems will become brittle and brittle.
Proper pruning of raspberries in the fall is indeed necessary. After all, this is the only way to control the density of plantings, shape the shape of bushes and branches, and influence the number and size of berries.
The technique of pruning raspberries in the fall is described in detail in this video:
