Preparing raspberries for winter: common mistakes in pruning bushes in winter

Raspberry

To ensure a bountiful raspberry harvest each year, it must be properly prepared for the challenging season. To ensure the berry bush survives the winter strong and produces abundant fruit in the summer, it's necessary to prune old branches, which prevent the young shoots from receiving nutrients. This procedure is only recommended in the Urals and further north. It's better to tie the shoots together, thereby increasing their resistance to weather conditions.

Preparing berry bushes for winter

After the snow melts, raspberries remain dormant for some time. For sap flow to begin, the sum of effective temperatures must be reached. However, even after stable warmth has been established, leaf buds on some shoots fail to open. This is due to freezing due to errors in preparation for the most difficult period of the berry plant's life cycle.

After harvest, the plants are fed with phosphorus and potassium, which are responsible for accelerating metabolism. They help boost plant immunity and cold resistance. However, nitrogen should be excluded from the fertilizer, as it stimulates vegetation and prevents the berry plant from properly preparing for winter. A number of other agricultural practices are also carried out.

Trimming

To ensure the berry bushes survive the winter successfully and bloom profusely in the spring, the bushes are pruned in the fall. Two-year-old branches are trimmed immediately after the entire harvest. All damaged and diseased shoots are also removed at the root, leaving an average of no more than seven per bush. Young growth is left largely untouched, with only the top 30 cm (12 in) of the shoots pruned. This ensures better flowering and fruiting.

Shelter

In many regions with mild climates, snow is used for cover. It creates a warm and secure layer for berry plants. If a gardener opts for this type of "covering material," care must be taken to prevent an ice crust from forming. This can suffocate the plants, as air access is partially or even completely restricted.

If the area is classified as a risky farming zone due to a lack of winter snowfall, it's best to cover the plantings with fallen garden leaves beforehand. However, only select fallen leaves from under trees free of infection. Alternatively, you can use plastic film, but make sure to poke holes in it beforehand to ensure adequate ventilation. For successful overwintering of raspberries, not only the covering is important, but also the timing of its installation. This procedure is carried out between two events:

leaf fall;
first snowfalls.

Should old branches be trimmed? Gardeners' opinions

In warm regions with long autumns and mild winters, old shoots are pruned. This ensures a bountiful harvest the following year, as drying and fruiting branches do not absorb the mother plant's sap. Pruning also serves a sanitary purpose, as it immediately removes the source of infection.

In northern regions, it's recommended to thin out branches in the spring, after the snow melts. When raspberries are "clumped," they're less susceptible to freezing. And since winters are harsh, both old and frost-damaged branches can be removed in the spring at one time. After tying the shoots into bunches, avoid bending them to the ground, as they can rot due to water leakage. After gathering the branches into a "heap," it's sufficient to mulch the area around the trunks with a layer of fallen leaves (15-20 cm).