[muddywellies]

I have to admit to being really confused about the whole raspberry cane pruning business  :oops:  Last November I planted 5 Joan J (Autumn) and 5 Glen Ample (Summer) plants. They came from Suttons and were just a bunch of roots with one dried up looking old 'stick' out of the top. They've grown away very nicely and are looking healthy. We've even had a few raspberries off of them. Not many, but they have been huge berries!

Everything I've read has said to totally chop down to the ground the Autumn fruiting canes once they've finished - in the early winter presumably. OK, that's easy enough. But apparently you should only chop off the 'old fruiting canes' of the Summer ones though. But I don't have any 'old' canes as everything that's grown has grown this year. So, do I leave the Summer ones alone for this year or chop off any canes that have bourne fruit even though they're not 'old'?

[gobs]

The ones, that have fruits on this year, won't fruit next, these are called old canes.

[woodburner]

Muddywellies you are exactly right you have no old wood this year Leave the new wood, it will fruit next year, and become old wood which you will subsequently prune.
Edit: Except for what gobs says ofc

[crowndale]

The ones, that have fruits on this year, won't fruit next, these are called old canes.

but I understand the confusion becoz i did the same thing last year and ALL the new canes produced fruit last year but I left them becoz they were new ones and they have all again produced fruit this summer too. (and very nice they were too)  but the new ones coming through also have flowers and forming fruit on them.  so I am confused too!  guess I'll just be chopping last years off soon and leaving the rest.

my blackberry has gone bananas as well, its ENORMOUS about an inch in diametre the new canes all the way along!  And so many new fruiting branches that I'll be eating berries daily for months me thinks and its only one plant!

[gobs]

Well, in summer raspberries I have not yet seen a reason for much confusion, fruited canes just die, become britle and dead.

[muddywellies]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Your blackberry plant sounds very promising Crowndale! The chap with the plot next to ours has a vast (slightly errrr, 'out of control') blackberry bush. It's taken over about a third of his plot! We're going to help him tackle it in the Autumn when he has retired and has more time. All the other plotters have been raving about how delicious the berries are on it every year - it's smothered in flowers so we're really looking forward to sampling some yummy fruit