Proper care of raspberries in autumn and their preparation for winter

Raspberry

The yield indicators when growing raspberries will directly depend on the correct implementation of activities after its fruitingParticular attention should be paid caring for raspberries in the fall and preparing for winterThis work involves pruning, fertilizing, cultivating, and insulating the shrub. Even a novice gardener can handle it.

Description of the culture

Raspberry is a perennial shrub with a sinuous, powerful rhizome and numerous erect above-ground shoots, which can reach a height of 2.5 meters. During the first year of growth, the shoots are herbaceous with thin, barely noticeable thorns. In the second year, they turn brown, become woody, and begin to bear fruit. After fruiting, the branches die, and a new stem emerges from the root bud in the spring.

Interesting!

Raspberries are extremely sweet and aromatic. Depending on the variety, they can be orange, yellow, burgundy, light pink, or bright red. Their flavor also varies, ranging from cloyingly sweet to slightly tart.

Raspberry is an unpretentious bushHowever, achieving a good yield, stable growth, and freedom from fungal and infectious diseases in this plant is only possible with proper care. These bushes will require the most attention in the fall, when they need not only trim correctly, but also feed, cover with mulch or spruce branches, which will allow the plantings to easily survive even frosty winters.

Autumn care of plantings

In the fall, after the harvest and with the onset of the first frosts, raspberry bushes will require special care. The fruiting of this berry crop next year will directly depend on the gardener's implementation of all the required agricultural practices.

Properly prepared for cold weather, plants will have the strength they need to survive the winter, and in the spring, they will quickly emerge from dormancy, grow foliage, and reward the gardener with an excellent harvest. Autumn care and preparation of raspberries for winter include: top dressing, pruning, preventative treatment and regular watering.

Pruning raspberries

One of the most important procedures is pruning the bush, as the success of the plants' wintering and subsequent fruiting will depend on this. Raspberries grown in home gardens, has a two-year vegetation cycle. This means that the shoots do not bear fruit in the first year, and berries are harvested only from two-year-old branches.

After this fruiting period, the shoots are pruned, which allows the bush to renew itself, ensuring proper growth while preventing overcrowding. If a gardener neglects fall pruning of raspberry bushes, the fruiting branches become a thorny jungle, various infectious diseases appear, and yields are significantly reduced.

A mature plant, provided it receives adequate nutrition and has a well-developed root system, can produce over 20 strong young stems during the growing season. Gardeners must not only prune old, fruit-bearing branches but also monitor the number of new young shoots. These shoots drain the energy and nutrients from fruiting branches, reducing yield. Furthermore, excess young shoots can lead to dense bushiness, which negatively impacts growth, impairs air circulation, and ultimately leads to fungal diseases.

Experienced gardeners know exactly what to do with raspberries in the fall and recommend early pruning immediately after the berry harvest. This way, all the raspberry plant's energy will be focused on developing new shoots, which will harden before the first frost. These properly overwintered canes will subsequently bear fruit abundantly, guaranteeing a bountiful harvest next season.

Raspberry pruning is performed as follows:

Last year's fruiting shoots are cut off.
Diseased stems and those affected by insect pests are cut out.
Thin, broken, curved and elongated stems are removed.
Immature young branches that have just appeared and will not have time to become woody before winter are pruned.
Remove excess shoots to prevent the bush from becoming too dense.

All branches are trimmed to ground level. Leaving stumps is prohibited, as they can harbor insects. Plant debris, including branches and leaves, should be burned away from the shrub. High-quality, disinfected tools are used for this work: a saw, pruning shears, and hedge trimmers.

Fertilizing the bush

After pruning the raspberry patch, remove debris and weed, removing all weeds. Fallen leaves should be collected and burned, as various harmful insects often overwinter in the litter.

Plants weakened by pruning and fruiting are fertilized to allow them to accumulate the necessary nutrients for the winter cold and the growing season next year. In the fall, organic fertilizers and mineral fertilizers are used for this purpose. Ideally, they should be alternated every other year: apply organic fertilizers in the first year, and then mineral fertilizers the following fall.

Advice!

When choosing a mineral fertilizer, avoid nitrogen-containing products that stimulate the growth of green mass, as newly emerging branches do not have time to harden and are killed by the first frost. Preference should be given to complex mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium.

It is possible to prepare mineral fertilizer yourself. Composition per bush:

Monopotassium phosphate - 40 grams.
Potassium salt - 40 grams.
Superphosphate - 60 grams.
Wood ash - 200 grams per 10 squares of garden bed.
Rotted manure - 6 kg per square meter of area.

Beginning gardeners are advised to use ready-made mineral fertilizers specifically designed for raspberries, strawberries, and wild strawberries. These fertilizers have an optimal composition, are easy to use, and provide the plants with all the necessary micronutrients, ensuring the most abundant fruiting next year.

All you need to do is strictly follow the dosage and apply these autumn plant fertilizers in a timely manner. Using ready-made formulas significantly simplifies autumn raspberry care and winter preparation.

Preventive treatment

Regardless of whether there are traces on the plants damage to foliage by insect pests or pathogenic bacteriaIt is recommended to treat raspberries accordingly in the fall for the winter. This type of spraying is not particularly difficult. Various fungicides and herbicides are available at gardening stores, and they are effective and completely safe to use.

Preparing for winter

Once pruning, preventative treatment and fertilizing have been completed, you can begin preparing the shrub for winter. This work involves the following actions by the gardener:

Mulching the soil.
Tying up the bush and bending it to the ground.
Shelter for the winter.
Construction of snow retention.

Such work isn't particularly difficult, so even a novice gardener can easily do it themselves. The best time to prepare plants for winter is early October, when the weather is still relatively warm and free of frost. In each specific case, the timing of preparing raspberries for winter is determined based on the regional climate and the weather forecast for the coming days.

Raspberry bushes can be mulched with dried grass, straw, compost, peat, stale sawdust, and pine needles. The protective layer should be 10-15 cm thick. This type of mulch will protect the root system from frost, and the organic matter will subsequently rot and supply the plants with essential micronutrients. If voles and other rodents live in the area, mulching the raspberries is not recommended, as these pests nest in the organic matter and damage tender young shoots.

The branches must be carefully bent to the ground and tied down. The optimal height is 30-50 cm, depending on the average annual snowfall, which should completely cover the plants. Before the onset of cold weather, the stems bend easily, allowing this procedure to be performed without damaging the shrub. However, after the first frost, the shoots become brittle and fragile, making it impossible to tie them down and bend them to the ground.

In northern regions, where winter temperatures can drop to 30 degrees and below, raspberry bushes will require additional insulation. The following materials can be used for this type of work:

Loose soil, peat or humus.
Lapnik.
Non-woven covering fabrics and agrotextiles.

Important!

In spring, with the arrival of the first warm days, such insulation must be removed, which will prevent the roots and stems from rotting.

In central Russia, high-quality snow retention is sufficient, eliminating the need for additional façade insulation. To create this type of snow cover, special snow-retaining devices must be installed. Polycarbonate sheets or plywood panels, staggered twigs, corn stalks, or sunflower stalks can be used.

To properly insulate the bushes, the snow cover must be at least 1 meter thick. Gardeners can rake up the first snowfall and cover the raspberry branches bent to the ground. This will protect the plants from the cold and significantly simplify preparation for winter and autumn care.

Preparing raspberries for winter in the fall in the Moscow region and the Urals isn't particularly difficult. This will allow gardeners to reap a bountiful harvest in the future. This requires timely fertilizing, pruning, and pest control, as well as proper insulation of the plant by installing snow guards, mulching the soil, and additional covering with spruce branches or agrofibre in northern regions.