Autumn Pruning of Raspberry Plants

Autumn Pruning of Raspberries

Raspberries are very popular among growers, especially among children and skilled cooks. The sweet fruits are tempting from the beginning of summer holidays (in lower altitudes from the end of June). If you have space in your garden for a raspberry thicket, don't hesitate and plant one.

Raspberries thrive in sunny, partially shaded locations. If you have them planted between trees, you may not get a full harvest, consider transplanting. Raspberries do well near supporting walls and fences. In small gardens, raspberries can even be planted under fruit trees of smaller stature and finer crowns.

Continuously remove leaves and shoots affected by fungal diseases or mildew. Use sprays and fertilizers according to the instructions for use. When handling sprays and fertilizers, protect children and pets. Do not use sprays in rain or excessively sunny weather. In smaller gardens, think carefully about using chemical products.

Raspberries grow upright. They reach heights of up to 2 m. They are not particularly attractive. In the garden, they create a disorganized thicket. If you plant several rows in succession, remember how you will harvest the raspberries. So you don't have to fight your way through the thicket to the centre and back.

Raspberries can be grown against a supporting wall. We can create an artificial supporting structure for them - drive a stake into the ground, or stretch a wire at a height of approximately 1 m.

Raspberries in General

Few people know exactly what variety of raspberry they are growing. If you have raspberries planted earlier - then use our recommended procedure. If you have been growing raspberries for a short time - new varieties, then find out carefully when and what pruning needs to be done.

Autumn Pruning

Generally speaking. In August, spent shoots begin to increase. You can start thinning these out. With this cut, you will lighten the overall growth and help other fruits to ripen. And not only that, you will gradually make room for new shoots so they can ripen and strengthen faster. You will also prevent rot from spreading from spent shoots. This thinning can still be done in September. This cut can also be done on newer varieties.

Attention: do not perform radical pruning on recently planted raspberries. Here we only remove damaged parts.

Every gardener has proven methods. Some don't pay attention to the variety type and mow everything down to the ground completely and harvest excellent fruits. Some carefully cut out spent shoots and also have a good harvest.

Tip: Perform pruning with high-quality and sharp scissors. You can choose classic-looking scissors, or perhaps "stylish" purple ones for women. Even with seemingly ordinary tools, you can bring joy and do a good job.

If you're not a radical pruner of all garden shrubs, generally follow these principles:

• remove two-year-old canes as close to the ground as possible
• remove only those one-year-old canes that unnecessarily thicken the growth
• leave a maximum of 6-8 canes per 1m²
• remove damaged and dried parts of canes
• trim canes to a maximum length of 1.8m

Spring Pruning

Spring pruning is performed as soon as the last frosts have passed. Remove excess, thickening canes. Check the tips of the canes - remove those that are dried and frozen. Shorten vigorously growing canes and canes that have grown outside the planted row. Don't shorten canes below a height of 1.3m.

Water raspberry plants throughout their vegetative growth period. Raspberry is among the most productive plants. During the growing season, you can fertilize it with well-rotted compost and farmyard manure. Keep the soil around the plants loosened and weed-free.

Raspberries fruit for the first time in autumn, on new spring canes. And they fruit for the second time in summer on the original year-old canes that have overwintered.

Luxurious raspberry syrup - everyone probably loved it as a small child, so why not make it yourself when it's very simple:

Wild raspberries are better than domestic ones, they're sweeter and more fragrant. Mash the fruits and let them stand at room temperature for 24 hours. You can sprinkle with sugar. Then press the raspberries through a strainer and through cloth. Add 7g of citric acid per 1l of pressed juice. You can dilute with water. Maximum 0.75l per 1l of raspberry fruit juice. You can quickly boil the juice - remove the foam. Then fill into bottles.

Processing Raspberries

Raspberries are excellent in desserts and cakes. A sponge covered with whipped cream decorated with raspberries and glazed with cake jelly is a delicacy. Unforgettable are also summer fresh cakes covered with a layer of raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries. They'll bring joy to any birthday celebrant. Try cheesecake, where you place several nice large raspberries on a baked base and pour over cream cheese/mascarpone. Such a cheesecake not only looks beautiful. It's also among the most popular desserts here.

You can preserve and freeze raspberries. For preserving, sprinkle raspberries in a jar with 2 tablespoons of sugar and let them stand so the sugar is absorbed into the fruits.

Cheesecake recipe - this is a budget-friendly version. If you want, you can replace the curd cheese with Mascarpone... if you haven't tried cheesecake yet, go for it, it always turns out great and tastes delicious!

You'll need (shopping list):

200g butter biscuits (digestives, Graham crackers, etc.) and 80g butter. Crush the biscuits and mix with butter, press everything with your hand onto the bottom and sides of a cake tin. Put in a preheated oven at 180°C for 5 minutes.

750g mascarpone (full-fat curd cheese). 150g sugar, 4 whole eggs, 1 vanilla pudding powder, lemon, vanilla pod (optional).

In a large bowl, mix the cheese (curd), egg yolks, vanilla powder, sugar and the pulp from the vanilla pod. Finally, fold in the egg whites beaten to stiff peaks and add the juice of one lemon.

Pour into the tin and leave to stand for about 5 minutes. Then bake for one hour in a preheated oven at 160°C. The surface will set. Test with a skewer to check if done.

On the bottom, you can put not only raspberries, but also strawberries, blueberries, etc.

Enjoy your meal!

Have a great time working in your garden and let us know how you pruned your raspberries.

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Author: Hana Michalíková