[LucasAndRichard]

Hi everyone, completely new to this site, so please be gentle!  I'm confused about raspberries, and figured the combined wealth of experience and infomation on here would probably resolve my dilemma!  I know it's a daft question, but humour me!  I have an allotment, and planted some 'Autumn Bliss' canes.  They fruited (yum!), and now I'm confused about pruning.  I know you're meant to cut the canes that have fruited down to groud level, but do you cut the ones that haven't fruited yet down too?  These grew from the same place, after the main canes, and are about a foot out of the ground.  Any suggestions of the best way to prune them so I have plenty of fruit next year?
Lucas

[DD.]

Autumn Bliss - blitz the lot!

They'll grow again next year and fruit on the same cane - as you know.

I've got a 32' "hedge " of them & have just chopped them down.

[Bombers]

Hi Lucas and Welcome to the forums.
Cut 'em all down to ground level. They will then grow new shoots next spring, that'll produce the fruit. Clear any sign of perrenial weed, and mulch around the plants over winter with well rotted manure.

[LucasAndRichard]

Is it best to cut them down now then?  Somewhere (no idea where!) I read to wait til Feb...

[DD.]

I know where you may have read it - but I'm not saying at it's not John's book!

I've never had any problem doing it at this time of year. I did it now because I knew I had the time & weather to do it.

Crystal ball's not showing February at the moment!

[Dominic]

I'm yet to find out why I'm supposed to chop down my rqaspberries, but its their first year and they havent fruited yet.

[DD.]

I'm yet to find out why I'm supposed to chop down my rqaspberries, but its their first year and they havent fruited yet.

If they are summer fruiting ones, pruning is totally different. You'll get the fruit on the new canes the following year, not the same year. You then cut out only the canes that have fruited.

[LucasAndRichard]

Thanks for the advice all - the other thing I'm trying to work out is how to tell the difference between the summer and autumn fruiting ones.  I've just taken on another 1/2 plot (the main one is my husbands really, I've just done a few bits of it), and the one I've taken on has raspberries on already, but I don't know what type.  The plot was tended until this spring/summer, and the raspberries are fruiting now, and have been for a while - would this make then autumn ones, so cut them all down?  What I mean is, if they were summer ones, would they have stopped fruiting by now?
I'm so confused!  (and probably confusing everyone else!)
 
Lucas

[Dominic]

"You then cut out only the canes that have fruited."

But why?

[DD.]

"You then cut out only the canes that have fruited."

But why?

a) - They'll probably be dead anyway

b) - If they aren't the younger canes will fruit better & you need the old stuff out of the way to let light & air in.

[rhian13]

my autumn ones are still fruiting so I expect they are autumn ones Lucas
the summer ones are often more straggly and need more support, the autumn ones grow in neater clumps - my book said cut all canes of autumn rasberries to ground level in winter, and only cut out fruited canes of summer ones

With the summer ones I think you cut out the canes that have fruited as they may harbour pests and diseases, and they are unproductive. Then you can thin out and tie in the new, unfruited canes that grew this year, as these will be the ones that fruit next summer...........

I planted a patch of each type last year, and in my garden I think the autumn ones were better in a small space, they were more prolific and tidier, although the summer ones did taste nicer....so I'm going to experiment more when I clear some space on the allotment

[LucasAndRichard]

Thanks rhian13 - whereabouts in Bristol are you?  Any tips for places to buy things locally??
I think my plan is to cut them all right down - if the unknown ones only grow and don't fruit next year then I'll know, won't I?!  I can't see that if they were summer ones then they'd still be fruiting, so I think you must be right.  Fingers crossed...!
L

[Trillium]

L&R, ask your plot neighbours if they recall when the previous plotter used to harvest their raspberries. Most lotty neighbours seem to know what others have. Or, just wait and see.

DD is right about the summer fruiting variety, which is what I have. The fruits come mostly on the cane tips of a 2nd year old branch. You can tell the difference because the whole cane is brown, while 1 yr olds are green with no fruit buds. Once the cane fruits, the branch is done and will turn darker and die by season's end so I simply wait until then and pull out all the dead ones.

Whichever type you have, late winter or early spring is a good time to feed with lots of old manure to ensure a tasty crop as well as a productive one.

[rhian13]

hello lucas & richard
I live in easton :@)
I buy most local things from the riverside garden centre, it has lots of bare-root raspberry canes and currant bushes in now. I had the ones for my garden from there and they were good quality, so I'll get more for the allotment  (when there is a proper bed for them)

I bought a pruning book from there as well, think it was £5 but really informative for soft fruit. I think at the time the raspberries were about £4 for 6 canes, and the currants about £4 each - that was a couple of years ago. The experiment has been tasty so far and compared to the cost of soft fruit in the shops it has more than paid for itself :@)

I've had some good bargains online too