Grow Your Own Magazine

We planted some raspberry canes earlier this year (late spring). They are the 'Glen Clova' variety, which I have read is a summer fruiting variety.

We have had some fruit off them this year (not many, but this was a surprise as we weren't expecting anything until next year!).

What should we do with them now? Should we be pruning them down to 3ins above ground (we've read that!) or is it too soon to prune them? Should we leave pruning til next Autumn?

Please help!

Many thanks

Sharon and Steve

I'm not an expert on raspberries, but as far as I understand.....
Some raspberries fruit mostly one one-year-old growth (usually autumn-bearers), while others fruit mostly on two-year-old growth (usually summer-bearers).
The autumn bearers get pruned down to the ground after they go dormant for the winter.
The summer bearers have the two-year-old growth cut down to the ground after going dormant. The one-year-old growth is left unpruned, to give fruit in the following season.

If in doubt, don't prune. Especially don't prune most fruit plants/trees in autumn while they're still green, or you'll prevent them taking the nutrients out of their leaves and into the roots for the winter (they'll re-use the nutrients next year).

Glen Clova is a summer fruiting raspberry and it's the older canes you need to cut to the ground. Check each cane - if you can see that it's borne fruit on it (the tell tale inserts for each of the fruit will still be there) - cut it out.

Normally, I'd have cut them as soon as the canes had finished fruiting - to divert the plant's energy into growing more new canes this year (that will bear harvested next year)

Raspberry Care and Picking / Harvesting - Page 3

As you've got newly planted plants, I'm guessing that the canes weren't initally cut back on planting and so you've got older fruiting canes in there.

Hope that helps!
Douglas

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Douglas

http://www.myvegetablegarden.co.uk/ - under construction

Thanks for your help FB and Douglas. Your info was really useful. Today I've looked through them and pruned the original canes down to 3" above ground and weaved the younger shoots around the trellis we've grown them against. Fingers crossed!

Thanks x