Growing raspberries – care and cutting

Easy-care raspberry plants provide a safe harvest for at least 8 years. It is particularly advisable to plant different types of raspberry. So you can extend the harvest, not all fruits ripen at the same time. You can harvest practically until the first frost. A distinction is made between summer raspberries that are pregnant once, autumn raspberries that ripen late, and so-called two-timer raspberries that are twice in foal. These fruit from August to September on the one-year-old canes and in the following summer they produce fruit again on the two-year-old shoots.

Variety selection

There are so many different types of raspberry. This is good because it allows you to cover a long harvest period. Raspberries are self-fertilizers. So you don’t need several varieties to guarantee the harvest. Fungal and virus-resistant raspberry varieties are ideal.

• Summer raspberries in spring – Sanibell, Glen Ample, Malling Promise, Malling Exploit
• Late ripening autumn raspberries – Autumn Best, Polka, Zefa, Schönemann, Heritage
• Two-timer raspberries – Sugana
• Virus Tolerant Varieties – Meeker, Rutrago, Rumiloba

location

Wild raspberries grow on the edges of forests and in clearings. Cultivated raspberries also like similar locations. Above all, it has to be bright enough. The plants need sun. They do not thrive well in the shade and are rather puny.

• Raspberries like the sun.
• A partially shaded to sunny location is ideal.
• It is beneficial if the plants are a little sheltered from the wind.
• Regarding the climate, raspberries are quite resilient.

Plant substrate

Only if you pay attention to the special needs of raspberries and respond to them will you enjoy the plants and a plentiful harvest. In addition to the location, special attention must also be paid to the plant substrate!

• Raspberries like deep, humus-rich soil.
• The pH value should be between 5 and 6.5!
• The plants cannot tolerate soil compaction at all.
• Water stagnation quickly leads to root or stem diseases.
• In the case of very sandy and permeable soil, a layer of mulch is recommended, which makes it more difficult for the soil to dry out.

plant

Planting raspberries isn’t complicated. What is important is the preparation of the ground and then a frame to hold the rods. Different scaffolding is used for the individual raspberry varieties.

• Loosen the root area really deep!
• Compaction must be avoided at all costs!
• Remove weeds completely! It promotes the spread of the dreaded rod diseases!
• When cultivating in rows – keep a row spacing of 1.25 to 1.50!
• Direct planting distance 40 to 50 cm.
• Before planting, both roots and branches are shortened.
• Cut away too long and injured roots!
• Shorten rods to 30 to 50 cm.
• Water before planting, put in water for about 2 to 3 hours!
• If you place raspberries on the border or the fence of the property, you have to keep the border distances!
• 10 year old raspberries should be replaced!

Summer raspberries

• For summer raspberries, the so-called V system has proven itself as a framework for the rods.
• Planting in August to October
• The scaffolding consists of a pile driven in vertically. Two smaller ones are attached horizontally to it, a shorter one at the bottom and a longer one at the top. Opposite a second post is driven in and also equipped. Then you can stretch thin wire between the two posts, two below, two above. The raspberry rods are bent upwards like a V on both sides.
• Of course, you can also plant summer raspberries on a simple wire frame (tension wire).

Autumn raspberries

• With autumn raspberries, a cross-stretched knot grid has proven its worth.
• Two-timer raspberries
• Stick training is most practical with these raspberries.
• The plants are planted between bamboo sticks that are attached to wires. The young rods are tied up on the left stick, the two-year-old shoots on the right.
• In the next year the sides will be switched.

Watering and fertilizing

Raspberry plants don’t like drought any more than standing moisture. So you have to pour with feeling. Fertilizing is easy, there isn’t much to do.

• The soil should never dry out!
• Do not necessarily pour it on the leaves, as that promotes fungal attack!
• Freshly planted raspberries in particular should be watered daily until they show fresh growth.
• Then watering once a week is sufficient.
• It is essential to use chloride-free fertilizers!
• Fertilize twice a year! – In April to secure earnings. In June for the budding of the following year
• Use 50 g complete fertilizer per square meter!
• No liming, high lime content hinders growth and yield

Cut raspberries

When pruning, it is important to achieve a balance between the root and the crown. What is too much has to be cut away. You can’t be squeamish about that. What use are a lot of rods if they don’t grow on them and the harvest is small. When handling the raspberry plants, care must be taken not to injure the rods in addition to the cut. Every wound is a source of danger. Pathogens can penetrate!

• As a rule, no more than 7 to 8, a maximum of 10 rods are left standing (depending on the structure). The rest is cut off just above the bottom.
• Always cut out weak rods first!
• It is cut early as soon as the rods have reached a height of 20 to 30 cm!
• The summer raspberries are pruned directly after the harvest!
• Remove as deep as possible!
• Cut away worn rods. Old rods are often sources of infection for pathogens. Tie up the new, renewable rods!
• Cut back the autumn raspberries completely in winter, approx. 3 cm above the ground!
• In between, it may also be necessary to remove or shorten something.
• You can limit growth in length by cutting the rods at a certain desired height.

Overwinter

Raspberries are very hardy. They survive the Central European winter without special protective measures.

Multiplication

It is common practice to propagate raspberries yourself. Offshoots, sinkers and the like are passed on among friends, neighbors and colleagues. This is only useful to a limited extent with raspberries. Raspberries break down very quickly. Older stocks are usually more or less affected by fungal and / or viral diseases. These do not have to be visible yet and are still there. If you plant such a shoot, it cannot be crowned with success. It is then better to buy from a specialist. You also get single-variety plants.

• Vegetative propagation through root runners.
• Otherwise, kicks are also a good method.
• Propagation via seeds is also possible.

Diseases and pests

If the location is not ideal and the plant substrate is too moist, diseases are quite common, especially fungal and viral diseases. Both can be prevented by choosing resistant varieties. That is very recommendable.

• Red root rot – to be recognized by the inadequate budding of the tail. The whole raspberry stick can die off. Waterlogging promotes root rot.
• Rod disease – recognized by blue-purple spots that spread quickly. Berries do not form. To prevent this, do not leave too many rods standing. Injuries promote the disease.
• Blue lice , spider mites and gall mites are pests . Wipe off aphids with your fingers or rinse with a water jet! Spraying with curd soap also helps. Spray spider mites with nettle tea. Cut back raspberries, i.e. remove infected shoots. Predatory mites are very helpful.
• Yellow leaves often indicate a magnesium deficiency. Magnesium-containing fertilizers help against this.

Tips

1. Do not plant raspberries in places where potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or strawberries have previously stood. These plants transmit the harmful Verticillium wilt, a fungal disease.
2. Don’t plant the raspberries too deep or they won’t grow. 3 cm of soil is enough on the roots!
3. When the summer raspberries begin to bloom in the first year and you cut off all of the flowers, you will encourage a bountiful harvest the next year.
4. Raspberries proliferate. They shoot root shoots around the main root, up to a meter away. It makes sense to sever the roots around the plant with a shovel every few weeks during the growing season, otherwise the saplings will deprive the mother plant of its strength.
5. Raspberries are not well suited for keeping in pots. To do this, they form too extensive root systems.

Conclusion
Raspberries are delicious. Especially if you have children, you should definitely grow some plants in the garden. The little ones also enjoy watching the rods grow and the flowers develop into fruits. In addition, they usually get to the fruits easily and can provide themselves with the delicious berries. To ensure a long harvest, you should plant as many different types of raspberry as possible. A distinction is mainly made between summer and autumn raspberries. Both types require a framework that is slightly different. Otherwise raspberries are very easy to care for. You have to constantly remove all weeds, you must not let the plants dry out, but you must also not drown and cut away what is too much. The cut of the individual varieties must also be observed!