Juicy, sweet and fragrant raspberries are very popular with both adults and children. Uncomplicated care, high yield and useful properties make this plant a welcome guest in any dacha section. Raspberry is a unique plant, because its root system is a long-term one, while the above-ground part consists of shoots of the current and last years. In order to raspberry for a long time and abundantly fruited, it is very important to look after it properly. Immediately after harvesting it is necessary to cut off the fertilized shoots under the root without leaving even hemp. It is necessary that the old shoots do not interfere with the young growth and do not obscure them. Correct pruning of raspberries in autumn is the second important condition for a good harvest next year. About how to properly cut raspberries in the fall, thereby preparing it for wintering , and will be discussed in our article.
Autumn pruning raspberries
Before you start pruning raspberries for the winter, you should determine exactly what kind of variety grows on your site. Depending on whether it is an ordinary two-year-old raspberry, or whether the repair is dependent on the pruning scheme:
- Repaired raspberry lays flower stalks and gives a good harvest on annual shoots. In a single season, raspberry varieties have time to grow shoots and form a full yield, giving a lot of lateral shoots, strewn with berries from top to bottom. To ensure that such varieties of raspberries are not degenerated into ordinary raspberries, it is necessary to carry out a complete pruning of the repair raspberry in the autumn. To do this, cut off all the shoots near the ground, leaving even hemp. Thus, only the root system will remain for the winter. It will be erroneous to leave part of the shoots, because in this case in the spring they will grow weak side branches, i.e. the advantages of repair will be lost. Raspberry will become ordinary, to the same low. Crop repair raspberry should be cut in late autumn, after the leaves are dead. But it is also possible for spring pruning of such a raspberry, when last year's shoots are cut off "under zero" in the early spring.
- Two-year-old raspberries yield a crop on the last year's shoots, without completely forming berries on annual shoots. Pruning of such varieties of raspberries begins with the removal of dry and diseased shoots. Then remove the undeveloped tips of the shoots. Shoots with well-developed kidneys are left, because they will be fully harvested next year. Simultaneously, the shoots are normalized, leaving healthy, well-developed stems at a distance of 23-30 cm from each other.
- Intermediate varieties of raspberries, showing repairability under favorable weather conditions, prolonged warm autumn yield a second crop on annual shoots. For raspberries of intermediate varieties, it is necessary to cut only that part of shoots on which ovaries and berries were formed. The remaining shoots for the next year will yield a full harvest. Very often beginner gardeners take intermediate varieties of raspberries for patchwork, and cut
them under the root for the winter, thereby depriving themselves of a crop for the next year.
As can be seen from the above, timely and, most importantly, the correct pruning of raspberries in the fall is a pledge of a full-fledged harvest for the next year. Therefore, it is very important to approach this process with all responsibility, not letting it take its course, because raspberries have the property of very quickly to be infected. Another important detail: cut off raspberry branches should be immediately burned to prevent the possible spread of diseases and pests. For the same reason, before wintering, it is necessary to carefully remove the leaves remaining on the raspberry bush. You can do this with a gloved hand along the bush.