Raspberries aren't particularly demanding or fussy plants. Therefore, novice gardeners might think they require no maintenance. This, of course, is not true. If you don't prune raspberries in the fall, they will soon turn into an impenetrable "jungle." You'll also notice that some gardeners reap a substantial harvest, while others settle for little. It's all about proper care.
Why is the procedure necessary?
Raspberries are a fairly common berry in the CIS countries. It's rare to find a garden without this crop. However, they require proper care. Dense thickets will not produce a sufficient harvest, and the berries will be small. Flavor will also suffer due to insufficient sunlight, nutrition, water, and ventilation.
Pruning raspberries helps prevent some diseases and makes harvesting easier. This creates more space, making it easier to pick the berries without having to scratch your hands on thorns.
You may be interested in:Fruiting buds Most of them are found on two-year-old shoots. These are the ones that produce the bulk of the harvest. Older branches hinder their development, and the raspberries begin to bear fewer and less tasty berries.
Necessary tools
To prune correctly, you need to have the right tools on hand. The main assistant in this matter is
pruning shearsIt must be sharp, otherwise you can seriously damage the shoots, which can dry out and die. Garden shears are a good alternative to pruning shears. They have convenient long handles that can reach into the thickest of thickets.
In some cases, you'll need a sharp garden knife. The shoots aren't always cut straight, and a knife can help even out the cut. Don't forget a rake, which can be used to collect all the cut material and burn it.
You may be interested in:Operation technology
Raspberries are perennial plants with a two-year growth cycle. The harvest comes from the two-year-old plants. To ensure consistent fruiting, maintain the size of the berries, and prevent the raspberries from becoming overgrown, they need to be pruned regularly. However, pruning raspberries in the fall isn't necessarily difficult for beginners.
Autumn pruning is mainly sanitary characterAll diseased, excess, broken, and old shoots are removed. They are then burned without fail. The optimal time for pruning is a month before the onset of frost. Therefore, it is worth checking the weather forecast in advance.
During the summer season, one bush produces up to twenty new shoots. Only half of these should be left if the raspberries are planted in rows. If the raspberries are planted in bushes, twelve shoots can be left.
Professionals recommend pruning raspberry bushes according to a pattern, at varying heights. Some shoots are shortened by 10 cm, others by 20 cm, some by half, and so on. This procedure will help stabilize fruiting over the long term.
You should expect a harvest initially from lightly pruned bushes; others will yield a little later. Intensive pruning will impact the yield; initially, it will be smaller, but over time, it will recover. In colder regions, raspberries should be covered immediately after pruning.
You may be interested in:Pruning height and subsequent care
The height to which raspberry bushes should be pruned depends on their condition and age. Two-year-old shoots should be cut back to the ground, while one-year-olds should be pruned by half. Fast-growing varieties should be pruned shorter. One and a half meters is the maximum permissible height for bushes.
Varieties that have produced a bountiful harvest are pruned back to the base, as new shoots will emerge in the spring. Immediately after pruning, the remaining branches are treated with Fitosporin, which will prevent disease.
After all the pruning procedures, raspberry bushes require minimal and inexpensive care. The entire planting is thoroughly watered. After the soil dries, it is mulched.
Autumn mulching necessary to protect the soil from the harmful effects of the environmentThese factors include wind, frost, and washout. Mulching will increase the chances of a good raspberry harvest next year.
Next, you need to fertilize the raspberries. Typically, manure, bird droppings, and mineral fertilizers are used as nutrients. Fertilizers are applied in the following order:
- Bird droppings are placed throughout the raspberry patch in liquid form.
- Manure is added to mix with the soil. It is also used to insulate the roots during the winter. 5-6 kg of manure per square meter is recommended. It should be applied no more than once every three years.
- Compost is considered an excellent fertilizer. Compost is partially rotted plant material (leaves, grass, and tops).
- Green manure crops such as vetch, oats, lupine, and mustard can be used. They are planted in early summer and incorporated into the soil as winter approaches. There, they rot and become a good fertilizer.
- Peat enriches the soil of raspberry patches. It should be alternated with other fertilizers to avoid overdoing it.
- Potassium salt and superphosphates are used as mineral fertilizers. 45-60 grams of the substance are applied per bush. Furrows are made between the bushes and the fertilizer is then applied.
Avoid using nitrogen-based fertilizers. They stimulate plant growth when the plant should be dormant.
Before fertilizing raspberries, you need to pay attention to their appearance:
- Yellow leaves and poor crop growth indicate a magnesium deficiency.
- If the leaves are brown closer to the edge, this indicates a lack of potassium.
- Low iron levels result in yellow leaves with green veins.
- If the stems are too thin, then there is not enough phosphorus.
If you live in a harsh region, cover the raspberries for the winter. Some of the berry branches are tied together and bent to the ground. Then, cover the plant with straw, dry leaves, or sawdust, or use an artificial material.
You may be interested in:Everbearing raspberry
Pruning this raspberry variety differs from the standard procedure. Most often, raspberry shoot removal depends on the climate. Autumn pruning is suitable for warmer regions, while spring pruning is more appropriate for colder regions.
It should be taken into account that everbearing raspberry The plant bears fruit from both first-year and second-year shoots, so it can be harvested twice. Typically, the first flush produces more berries than the second. However, the fruit can be harvested until the first frost, although not in large quantities.
Raspberry pruning for the winter occurs shortly before frost. This involves cutting back all old shoots to the ground. Bushes planted this season are shortened to 20 cm. This procedure helps eliminate pests and diseases.
You may be interested in:After the pruning procedure, the bushes are treated with special additives. Usually it is three percent Bordeaux mixtureAll cut parts of the crop must be burned.
The following spring, you need to find frozen or dead bushes and prune them. Prune them either completely or down to the living part. This entire process is carried out around April or May, before the leaves emerge.
Sobolev scheme
Russian gardener A. G. Sobolev has introduced a truly revolutionary method of double pruning for raspberries. The first pruning is performed in late May or early June. Approximately 12-15 cm of the top of a young shoot that has reached 70-100 cm in height is cut off. The plant stops growing vertically and focuses all its energy on lateral shoots. Toward the end of summer, 5-6 new shoots will appear. These shoots are then stored for the winter. Pruning should not be performed later than the recommended time, otherwise the entire shoot will die in winter.
The second pruning stage occurs the following spring. This time, the tops are cut off from the lateral shoots. This encourages buds to appear along the entire main trunk, which then become branches. By the time fruiting time arrives, the entire plant will be covered in ovaries and clusters of large berries.
But Sobolev's method also has its drawbacks. Primarily, it involves planting too densely. Alexander Georgievich assumed that the more shoots, the more berries there would be, but he quickly realized this wasn't true. In the first year, on a 50 square meter plot with four rows of bushes, each with 15-20 shoots, the gardener harvested about 30 kg of berries.
The following year, he thinned the rows to two, leaving 2 meters between them. The number of shoots also decreased—to 10. That year's yield was 75 kg. A year later, the number of shoots dropped to 8, and the yield was 100 kg. Eventually, the researcher reduced the number of shoots per bush to 4, and the yield increased to 135 kg.
Even if you follow all the rules, there's no guarantee you'll get a good harvest. Many factors influence fruiting, including climate, soil composition, and raspberry variety. Therefore, experimentation is essential. There's no definitive way to prune raspberries for the winter. Every gardener has their own secrets. But one thing remains constant: Raspberries require care in the fall..
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