Friday, May 22, 2009

Raspberry pruning


Red raspberries are very hardy and grow well along the Front Range. Black and purple raspberries do better in milder climates like the fruit producing areas on the West Slope.

While raspberry clumps are perennial, individual raspberry canes should be removed after they have fruited once. In practice, this means that canes should be pruned out after either their first or second year. The trick is to know which year to prune.

The raspberries you have may be either summer (June) fruiting varieties, or fall bearing plants that produce a late summer/fall crop. Summer bearers flower and bear fruit on canes that grew the previous year. Once they fruit, those canes won’t produce a crop again and should be removed. Recommended summer bearing varieties are Latham, Boyne, Laura and Honey Queen.

Fall varieties bear fruit on new growth produced in the summer. Those canes will produce a light early summer crop the next summer. After that, the canes should be removed. Fall bearing canes can be cut down to the ground in early spring if an early crop of fruit isn’t wanted. Fall bearing varieties include Heritage, September Red, Fall Red, Red Wing, Amity, Pathfinder, Trailblazer, Plainsman, Perrone’s Red, Caroline, Autumn Bliss, Goldie and Anna.

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