Bright, juicy and very fragrant raspberry - the berry is not only tasty, but also useful. From it cook medicinal jam, freeze and keep the leaves in the dried form. Of course, such a storehouse of vitamins is simply necessary to have on your site. And that raspberries successfully winter and the next year gave an excellent harvest, it must be properly prepared for wintering, in particular, to cut. On how to properly cut raspberry bushes in the fall and will be discussed in our article.
Is it necessary to cut raspberries in autumn?
Is it necessary at all to trim raspberries in the fall or is it able to survive the winter in a non-cropped form? It all depends on the age of the crimson bushes - if the raspberries have been recently planted and the shoots have not yet grown stronger, it is better not to cut it in the fall. For the remaining time before the frost, the bushes will grow up a little more, get stronger and be stocked with nutrients for a successful wintering. In other cases, raspberries need to be cut off necessarily, and without any pity getting rid of all that is superfluous.
Terms of pruning raspberry bushes in autumn
So, when should the correct pruning of raspberries be carried out for the winter? There are no exact terms here, it all depends on the climatic conditions of this particular area. Do not rush, and cut raspberries in those days when the autumn is just beginning to gild the leaves, and the temperature is confidently holding on to positive marks. Preparation of raspberries for winter, in particular, pruning is carried out only in late October or early November, when there are stable night frosts.
Ways of pruning raspberries
What does the pruning of raspberry bushes for winter include? First of all - the removal of all the sick and dead parts of the bush, which are ruthlessly cut to the very root. It is very important immediately after the end of the cutting works to collect all the scraps in a heap and burn. This will not only give the site a neat appearance, but also help to destroy pests living on raspberries.
Crop raspberries for the winter can be in several ways, one of which is a double pruning according to Sobolev. Although this method of pruning raspberries and quite troublesome, but all labor costs are more than rewarded by a plentiful harvest for the next year. The essence of double pruning is to prun up the crimson shoots in the spring. But not all the raspberry shoots, but only by the fact that by the time of pruning reached a height of more than 100 cm. Throughout the summer, raspberries have been successfully growing and developing, forming a lot of lateral shoots. When autumn pruning, only the strongest of them are left for wintering, in order to cut off the tops again by 15-20 cm in spring. Thus, they achieve the formation of a strong, well-branched bush that gives a lot of color buds. During the subsequent autumn cuttings, the bush is thinned, removing weak shoots. The second method of pruning raspberries is the complete removal of its terrestrial part. In late October or early November, all shoots without exception must be cut off, and the soil above the remaining root system of the bush should be thoroughly covered. It can be done with sawdust or peat, the main thing is to hide it securely to protect it from frost. Cropped in this way the bush is excellent
Raspberry shelter for the winter
To protect the remaining raspberry shoots from the effects of cold, you need to hide them. This is done this way - shoots are pressed to the ground with special staples, and a shelter is constructed from above from natural or artificial covering materials. Of course, the best way to protect raspberry shoots from frost will be a good layer of snow. But if the winter does not please snow, then it is possible to protect the shoots with straw, lagnik or a layer of leaves - walnut or chestnut.