12/03/2025
Now is the time! If you haven't already done so, now is the time to prune your raspberries for winter. But what do you cut and what do you keep? Pruning this way works for both July and everbearing varieties. 1. Canes that have lateral branching (that had berries in July) like picture number 2 get cut back to the ground. 2. Canes that just finished bearing fruit in late fall on the tips of the canes (everybearing) get pruned back to just below the fruit or to the height you want for picking. 3. Cut back the new canes that grew this summer (July bearing) to picking height. 4. Restring you wire to catch any straggling canes so they all have support. And 5. cover your raspberry bed with a thick layer of leaves (nature's fertilizer). This will prevent weeds from growing and slowly birm up and feed your berry area. In April I apply a light layer of chicken compost and water it in, and this will give you nice big berries! For watering, I have a 1" soaker hose that makes about 3 passes through this 5' wide bed. Every 2 weeks during the dry season I let it drip for 4 hours and they're happy! 😊
