Simple and clear instructions for pruning remontant raspberries in the fall for beginners

Pruning remontant raspberries is an important step in caring for plantings. To get a high yield several times a season, you need to properly prune the berry bushes. Step-by-step instructions for beginning gardeners will help you sanitize plants correctly, quickly and easily.

Why prune remontant raspberries in the fall, what benefits does it give?

Timely autumn pruning of remontant (that is, capable of bearing fruit throughout the growing season) raspberries makes it possible to harvest berries with excellent varietal characteristics until the onset of the first frost.

If you leave the raspberries unpeeled, they will lose their “double” properties the very next year. The second important task of autumn pruning is to keep the plantings in neat condition and solve pest problems.

Is pruning necessary?

Remontant raspberries begin to bear fruit on the shoots in the first year of planting. In order for plants to produce an increase in high-quality fruiting shoots in the spring, such a bush must rest well during the winter. That is why fruiting cuttings and young shoots of remontant raspberries are removed in the fall. This way the root system will accumulate the maximum amount of nutrients for the new season.

With the onset of the first spring warmth, the bush will send out new strong shoots with a large number of fruit buds.

Optimal timing of the procedure

There are tricks to choosing the timing of pruning remontant raspberries.To get maximum yield in the second year of planting, the autumn harvest period is reduced by 30-40%. In this case, most of the bush is cut out flush with the ground in September. For those who plan to get most of the berries in the fall, pruning is done in late November-early December.

Important! Pruning remontant raspberries too early stimulates intensive formation of vegetative buds and jeopardizes the future harvest.

The approximate timing for pruning remontant raspberries in the Russian Federation is as follows:

• Kuban, South Caucasus - October-November;
• Central Russia - end of September;
• Northern regions - late August - early September.

Types of pruning

Thickened raspberries of any kind degenerate in any case. She produces meager harvests and often gets sick. To prevent this situation, experienced gardeners leave no more than 5-6 berry-producing shoots on the bush. There are several types of pruning of remontant raspberries.

Formative

The remontant bush produces berries twice a season on this year's green shoot. If the branch is not removed for the winter, it will produce fruit buds in the spring, but the berries will be small and can only be collected once in the summer.

It turns out that there is no formative pruning for remontant raspberry varieties. With the onset of the first stable frost, all productive raspberry shoots are completely removed at the root. The gardener’s task is to leave exclusively the root system of remontant raspberries during the winter, which will prevent the variety from degenerating.

Rejuvenating

To rejuvenate remontant raspberries on the site, they use their own planting material. The shoots of this summer in the fall are cut not at the root, but to a height of 20-25 cm. In the spring, such shoots are divided and transplanted to a new place.One of the sprouts is left in the ground so as not to disturb the overall architecture of the bed.

Attention! No more than 5-7 leading shoots are left on one plant for propagation.

Sanitary

Sanitary pruning of remontant raspberries is carried out throughout the season. In the spring, gardeners always remove raspberry shoots, which act as a kind of “parasite” of the bush. Sprouts up to 10 cm high are cut with a shovel to a depth of 6-8 cm so as to remove them with the root, but not damage the mother root system of the bush.

Throughout the season, it is necessary to regularly inspect the plantings and remove diseased branches affected by pests and diseases.

How to properly prune remontant raspberries

Thoughtless pruning of remontant varieties can destroy the bush, so you need to act extremely carefully.

Required materials and tools

To clean raspberries, a standard garden pruner with short handles and long curved blades is sufficient. The main rule is that the tool must be well sharpened and the spring mechanism must be lubricated.

Important! The blades of dull pruning shears “soak” the cut, which is especially dangerous for the plant. Through such a wound, fungal spores enter the plant, the raspberry plant instantly becomes infected and becomes very sick.

Trimming schemes

Remontant varieties bear fruit for up to two months or more. During autumn cleaning, it is important to cut out absolutely all shoots at the root. The exception is those bushes that were left for breeding.

Step-by-step pruning instructions

Pruning remontant raspberries in the fall is as simple and straightforward as possible:

1. The site is being raked leavesto expose soil with young growth.
2. Shoots of any height are removed flush with the ground using pruning shears.
3. The brushwood must be collected and taken out of the raspberry patch.

If there are beds with ordinary raspberries nearby in the garden plot, after all the activities are completed, it is worth covering the rhizomes with crushed coal or ash.

On a note! All work in the raspberry field is carried out in protective gloves and clothing made of dense material.

Trimming Features

Let's consider the features of caring for plants of different ages.

Young raspberries

Young shoots are removed at the root in the fall, leaving no stumps. In the northern regions, remontant raspberries do not have time to produce two harvests per season, but bear fruit in September. To help the raspberry tree survive harsh winters, autumn shoots are cut off in the spring at the time the young shoots appear. In this case, the old branch feeds and preserves the root during the long Siberian winter.

Old

If it was not possible to remove productive shoots in an old raspberry tree in the fall, pruning is carried out in early spring until the buds open. Otherwise, the bush will waste its energy on maintaining the vegetative part.

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Processing of sections and further care

At the time of fruiting of remontant raspberry varieties, the main pests of this crop go into hibernation, so the berries are not damaged by worms. Such varieties rarely get sick.

After cleaning, it is necessary to apply fertilizer to restore the strength of the plants. In the fall, it is recommended to use organic fertilizers: compost, diluted bird or rabbit droppings, rotted manure.

Remontant raspberries are very demanding of moisture. It is extremely important to carry out autumn “charging” watering so that the bushes go into winter safely.If the autumn turns out to be dry, after pruning the raspberries, dig a trench 20-25 cm deep along the beds and fill it generously. The next day landings mulch with straw, sawdust, pine needles. The thickness of the layer is 15-20 cm, it is left until spring.

On a note! Drip irrigation is the optimal way to irrigate berry plants that require moisture during the flowering period. It requires minimal intervention from the gardener, but effectively moisturizes the deep layers of soil in the rows.

Conclusion

Pruning “long-lasting” raspberries requires special skill from the gardener and a certain “flair”. If desired, all skills can be developed in 2-3 years of hard work and a scrupulous attitude to business. And the reward for your efforts will be a harvest of delicious, aromatic berries until late autumn.