Perennials

General Care:

• Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce weeds.
• Water 1 inch per week from spring until after harvest.
• Every 3-4 years fertilize in early spring with a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10).
• Can be grown in containers, trained up a trellis, pruned into small trees or maintained as a small shrub.

NOTE: Very sharp thorns. Wear gloves when handling and picking berries.

Pests & Diseases:

• Susceptible to powdery mildew and fungus.

Winter/Early Spring Pruning Steps (bush still dormant):

1. Remove dead and diseased wood.
2. Remove tangled, crossed, overcrowded or branches touching the ground.

Branches that are left, make the following cuts just above an outward facing bud:

1. Cut back the previous seasons grown by half.
2. Cut back side branches between 1 and 3 buds from the base of the shoot.
3. Remove any suckers growing away from the main stem.

NOTE: For established plants, remove canes over 4 years old. Ideal bush has about a dozen canes at any one time, half being new shoots and other half a mix of 2- and 3-year-old canes.

Summer Pruning (mid-June):

• Pruning of new growth will improve air circulation. Shorten new growth tips to 5 leaves.

 

 

 

General Care:

• Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce weeds.
• Water 1 inch per week from spring until after harvest.
• Keep bushes tidy by removing “suckers” that grow outside of designated rows. This prevents loss of nutrients used to grow the canes which will reduce berry size of next years crop.

Pests & Diseases:

• June through August watch for spider mites and Japanese beetles. Also susceptible to cane borers and powdery mildew.
• Rabbits will eat canes in the winter. Prevent with chicken wire fence.

Ever-bearing Raspberries AKA Fall-bearing Raspberries

• Fruit on first year of growth.
• After fruiting in fall, cut all canes to the ground. No pruning is required during the growing season.
• Clean up all debris to avoid disease and pests over winter.
• NOTE: To harvest both a fall and following summer crop, do not remove the primocanes that produced the fall crop. Prune them back in spring to 12 inches to the last visible node that had fruit and cut off dead tips.

Summer Fruiting Raspberries

• Produces fruit on 2-year-old canes.
• In the fall, cut canes to the ground that produced berries. These older canes are brown. Do not cut the new green canes as they will fruit next year.

4 Easy steps to Pruning Red Raspberries:

1. Remove last year’s floricanes
2. Narrow the row width to 1.5 – 2 feet
3. Cut out the weaklings. You only want the tallest, thickest and healthiest looking canes left.
4. Attach remaining canes to a V-shaped trellis. This design has 2 parallel wires spaced 3 feet apart and approximately 4 feet high. Attach canes to the trellis using twine. Tie canes so half are on one side of the row and half on the other side, approximately 1 every 4 inches. This promotes air circulation and encourages new growth in the center for next year. In addition, fruit will be on the outside for easier picking.