Raspberries are one of the most popular fruit shrubs in our gardens. Sweet, juicy berries are loved by both children and adults, and raspberry jam helps us out in the cold winter. So that raspberries can please the gardener with a rich harvest of delicious aromatic fruits, the berry must be looked after. One of the important care elements on which the crop depends is the proper pruning of raspberries.
Raspberry pruning
Raspberries are a perennial fruit shrub whose shoots have a two-year development cycle. In the first year, the young shoot grows, branches and lays flower buds. In the second year, it bears fruit, and the bush grows a new young shoot. In order for the berries to be large and sweet, and the plant not to be attacked by pests and diseases, raspberries need care. Adequate watering and proper feeding are necessary techniques, but like no other plant, raspberries need pruning. If the shoots are not cut in time, the bush grows much, the young shoot does not receive enough light and nutrients and, as a result, develops poorly and lays an insufficient number of fruit buds. The berries at the same time not only grow smaller, but also become tasteless.
Proper pruning of raspberries is the key to a good harvest
Raspberry bushes are pruned several times during the growing season - in spring, summer and autumn. Each approach has a specific goal, so the cropping methods are different from each other.
Video: how to trim raspberries
Autumn pruning raspberries
Autumn pruning is carried out without waiting for cold weather. The best time for this operation is a week after the harvest. The sooner raspberries are thinned, the more light and nutrition young shoots will receive, and the next year’s crop directly depends on it. All deflated shoots are cut by secateurs as close to the ground as possible. The fact is that in stumps, if they are not removed, harmful insects can settle, but this can not be avoided. For the same purpose, all branches that are broken or affected by diseases and pests are removed.
Many gardeners recommend in the autumn to remove not only two-year-old shoots, but also young excess shoots. Perhaps, in areas with warm winters, this advice makes sense, but in harsh climatic conditions it is better to leave all young shoots until spring. A thick bush will better withstand frost and delay snow. In winter, it is advisable to tie the bushes with twine and bend to the ground - so the plant will quickly find itself in the snow and will not freeze.
With autumn pruning, all shoots of last year are removed
Spring pruning raspberries
After the snow melts, spring raspberries are trimmed. Tied and crouched, the shoots free and inspect. All frozen and broken branches must be removed. At the same time, thickened plantings are thinned out. If raspberries are grown in shrubs, then 7-10 shoots are left per plant. Thin and weak branches cut close to the ground.
During spring pruning, excess shoots are removed and the tops of the shoots are shortened
If raspberries are grown in rows, then between adjacent shoots the distance should be 10-15 cm, and between rows not less than one and a half meters. The less often raspberries are planted, the more sun and nutrients the plants will receive, and the larger and sweeter the berries will be.
In the spring, you need to shorten the shoots so that their height does not exceed one and a half meters. The tops are cut to a healthy kidney. This is done in order to give an impetus to the growth of lateral shoots, on which berries will appear next summer. In addition, pests or pathogens often hide at the tops of shoots, so this pruning is also of a sanitary nature.
Shorten shoots during spring pruning
Often gardeners in order to extend the fruiting time of raspberries go to the trick. During spring pruning, they shorten the shoots to different lengths - some by 10 cm, others by 20 cm, and others by 30. As a result, the berries ripen first on the longest branches, then on those that are shorter and lastly on the low-cut. Harvest, with such pruning, will not be friendly, but fruiting will last until the fall.
Pruning raspberries in summer
To get a good harvest, raspberries must be taken care of all summer. If during the inspection of the bushes there are signs of diseases, especially viral ones, which are difficult to get rid of, the affected shoots must be immediately removed, cutting under the root. Broken branches and dried tops are also pruned. It is necessary to remove the excess shoots, which takes away strength and thickens the raspberry. If you do not postpone this procedure until the fall, the shoot will not have time to take root and it will not be difficult to remove it.
If pruning raspberries was carried out correctly - the harvest of large berries will not take long
Double pruning raspberries according to Sobolev
Many gardeners successfully use double pruning raspberries, according to the Sobolev method. Cut in this way, raspberries have the appearance of a tree.
Double cropping result:
- long-term berry picking;
- increased yield due to numerous side shoots;
- healthy, well-groomed raspberry bushes.
Video: the principles of double pruning raspberries
The first pruning according to Sobolev is carried out at the beginning of summer, when the young shoots of raspberries reach a height of 80-100 cm. The tops are cut by 10-15 cm, which provokes the appearance of young shoots from the sinuses of the leaves. With good care and sufficient space, lateral growths grow by 40-50 cm by the fall. It is on them that the next year's crop is formed. It is very important not to delay with the first pruning, otherwise the young shoots will not have time to ripen and die in the winter.
The second pruning according to Sobolev is carried out in the spring of the second year and is crucial. Without waiting for the leaves to bloom, the side shoots are shortened by 10-15 cm, which pushes the bush to the emergence of new branches. They appear from the leaf sinuses and two more small ones are formed on one side shoot. If you observe the timing of pruning, then ovaries will appear on all side shoots. Autumn pruning in this case is no different from the usual one - all shoots from which the crop is harvested, as well as diseased and broken branches, are removed. That's just to carry it out right after harvest, without waiting for the fall. If you immediately remove the seedling shoots, the young shoot will receive more space, light and nutrients and have time to turn into powerful bushes before the fall.
As a result of double pruning raspberries, the yield increases several times
With a double pruning of raspberries, the bush grows wide. If the distance between the bushes is small, then the planting will be thickened, and this leads to the spread of diseases and a decrease in yield. Therefore, when starting to plant raspberries, it is important to consider further pruning methods.
Pruning raspberry raspberries
The cultivation of repairing raspberry varieties has its pros and cons. The fact is that receiving from one bushes two crops a year - in summer and autumn, the second, autumn one will be weak. There are not so many berries, and the quality will not be up to par - small, dry fruits are unlikely to please the gardener. Therefore, experts grow on their site and ordinary raspberries, and repair. At the same time, repairing varieties are allowed to bear fruit only once - in the fall. This is achieved by correct pruning.
In repairing varieties, fruiting occurs both on annual shoots and on two-year-old ones. To harvest one good crop in September, raspberries are cut completely in the fall. All shoots are cut with a sharp secateurs close to the ground, leaving stumps no higher than 3 cm.
To get a good harvest, the repair varieties are completely cut in autumn
Pruning is best done in late autumn, after the first frost. At this time, the sap flow of the plants slows down, and the bushes tolerate the operation well. Care with such pruning is much easier - there is no need to bend the shoots to the ground, and diseases and pests have little chance. If for some reason it was not possible to trim the remont raspberries in the fall, you can transfer the pruning to spring. As early as possible, in March or early April will need to cut off all the shoots.
In summer, the tops of the growing shoots can be shortened to stimulate the appearance of side branches. Sanitary pruning is carried out in the same way as with ordinary raspberries.
Rooting green cuttings
Carrying out spring pruning of bushes, you can simultaneously raspberry cuttings. Cuttings are best cut from a young shoot.
The rooting sequence of the cuttings:
- At the offspring cut off part of the shoot with 3-4 leaves.
- Remove the lower leaves, leaving the two upper leaves.
- Slices of cuttings immerse in a solution of Kornevin or heteroauxin for 14-16 hours.
- Plant the cuttings in a school with loose fertile soil and moisten.
- In the school, install arcs and cover with agrofiber.
It is necessary to maintain humidity in the greenhouse - to spray and water the cuttings on time. After 3-4 weeks, the cuttings take root and start to grow. In September, grown bushes can be planted in a permanent place or postpone this event until next spring.
Rooted raspberries that are rooted and grown in autumn can be planted in a permanent place.
Rooting green cuttings is a simple and reliable way to propagate raspberries. The shoots easily take root, and in young seedlings all varietal qualities of the mother bush are preserved.
Pruning raspberries is a simple matter and does not take much time. However, this is a very important element in the care, without which the raspberry grows quickly and turns into impassable wilds. You can’t count on a good harvest with such cultivation. It is worth making a little effort and raspberries will thank the gardener with large, sweet, and numerous berries.
