Raspberries fruit on 2nd year canes. So the old ones are notable by having a brownish bark like stem, the new ones are fresh and green. Leave these green ones alone, they will produce the next lot of fruit. Only remove the old ones.
mkr_ahearn,
Dec 13, 8:52pm
mmm I cut them all back in the winter, and so far lots of fruit forming, already eaten some
whiskey13,
Dec 13, 10:55pm
Last year was the first year my canes were in the ground,i got a good crop, this year i didn't get around to pruning them and so far i have filled an ice cream container full plus eaten fresh and shared with the birds. MMMM homemade raspberry ice cream.
koru_designs,
Dec 14, 9:42am
Except that eventually if you don't prune the canes back, you end up with a massive mess of canes. My father doesn't prune his either & sure, they fruit prolifically.but trying to get to the raspberry bush is like attempting a jungle exploration.never mind trying to the harvest the fruit!
lythande1,
Dec 14, 4:56pm
You still don't "prune" them. You remove the canes that had fruit the previous season. Then, if there are too many canes, pull some of the new ones to cleat it back. It's still not pruning.
koru_designs,
Dec 15, 4:19am
Pruning is, by definition, cutting off a portion of the plant. It doesn't matter how much you cut off.it's still pruning.
kiwilion,
Dec 15, 4:40am
OP here is a webpage which very clearly shows what you need to do.-
I thin out i try and leave 10 canes per plantand cut out all woody and spindly canes.
katelin1,
Dec 15, 7:22am
Another option could be too much nitrogen in the soil, meaning lots of lovely leafy growth, not flowering growth. Perhaps add some sulphate of potash to help encourage flowering & fruiting growth.
cinnamon_celia,
Dec 12, 6:19am
I got some raspberry canes off a friend, 2 years ago.last year the bushes flourished.tall ,green & healthy.BUT, not a raspberry to be seen ! I thought "oh well.maybe they need to settle before they fruit".BUT, this year same thing ! If they were giving out prizes for lush, healthy greenery, I would win hands down, but I want berries, damn it!
What am I doing wrong!
Meanwhile the bushes of the friend who gave me the canes, are laden with fat berries! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
net_oz,
Dec 12, 6:49am
You didn't cut last years canes off did you!
skin1235,
Dec 12, 7:04am
you wouldn't be the first to cut down the entire lot at the end of the year
buut
raspberries grow on those fresh new shoots from this - next year
if you haven't had flowers and got fruit by now it's a good bet thats what happened oh well, next years will be good cropping cos the root system has had a good rest
a4dibbleplants,
Dec 12, 5:57pm
possible they are autumn raspberries which wont have fruit yet
mms10,
Dec 12, 9:03pm
it took mine a couple of years before i got berries and now i have more than enough,
semper,
Dec 12, 10:58pm
Hi, If your friend's raspberrys (the parents of yours) are fruiting now then I don't see how you can have autumn fruiting ones.
In winter you should only ever cut the canes off (at ground level) that have flowered and fruited that summer.
Summer fruiting raspberries have 2 types of canes
Primocanes: Have lush green leaves and NO (or very occasionally a couple) of flowers and fruit.
Floricanes: These are the "primocanes" from last year and have developed more "woody" stems.They will flower and fruit this (2nd) year.The leaves of them are not as lush as they put their effort into fruit.
Then, next winter you cut thses off and the cycle continues.
They are "gross feeders" and like water to fruit well.They like sun.They do not like wind.They like a cold winter (frosts).
Better luck next year!
dibble35,
Dec 13, 4:07am
I'm getting raspberries but the birds are beating me to them, not enough time to get bird netting up and over the raspberries and boysenberries at the moment, to awkward. Maybe next year
koru_designs,
Dec 13, 4:12am
I have autumn fruiting rasperries that are fruiting now. A double harvest happens if they're not pruned back after they fruit - they give out a small summer harvest before the main one in autumn (although total harvest is lower than a bush that has only fruited in Autumn). I also have summer fruiting rasperries that have sulked this year & decided not to fruit properly (& no, I haven't got them mixed up.lol).but my theory for this happening this year is due to weed competition (they don't like grass, etc, round their roots).& possibly neighbours over the fence getting busy with weedkiller.
So.first you need to work out what sort of rasperries you have. If your friend doesn't know, one way to tell is height. Summer fruiting tend to be taller.autumn fruiting shorter & with more tendancy to sucker (although they both sucker.it's just that autumn seem to do it moreso). Having said this, it does depend a bit on position, etc (my summers are shorter than my autumns because of my lovely chooks who eat the leaves). Summer fruiting fruit on 2 year old canes, autumn on new growth.
As everyone else has said, you don't prune summer fruiting rasperries until after they fruit in their second year.& only cut back those canes that have fruited. You can cut them back to around 5cm from the ground (or where they branch from the mother plant if there is a mix of old & new canes). If they're autumn fruiting, they should be cut back after fruiting in their first year.5cm from ground. Or if they fruit in summer like mine are doing, give them a bit of a haircut mid summer so they have time to put on more growth before their 2nd fruiting (then cut them right back when they're finished).
They also benefit from a bit of fertiliser, etc.& a good water. Make sure they're in full sun.
arabelle,
Dec 13, 5:44am
Ohh dear, my bushes are still in their bags on the south side of the house, and have been neglected so weeds all around and smothering, but I have a fantastic crop. ! so all I can say is, no sun, lots of chilly wind, total neglect, and southerly rain. Exception to every rule I know
marlin9,
Dec 13, 5:59am
I just left ours alone last year (got berries then) and this year getting even more berries so not cutting off canes no a problem here
skin1235,
Dec 16, 5:42am
you're quite right though, raspberries thrive on neglect, and if the sheep get in to have a nibble they thrive twice as hard next year to make up for it
kids decided to assist clearing the jungle out the back and in the porcess thought they'd root prune the raspberries after cutting ALL the canes down, thought was to stop or slow then down, all that happened was every root they cut has now sprouted, so have the original clumps of old canes surrounded by a ring of very lush and quickly growing new plants - I going to have to fire the digger up soon to have a cleanup out there
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