Raspberry is a berry culture widespread in central Russia. The fruiting season falls on the period from June to early July. To achieve a rich harvest, you need to take into account a number of nuances, the main of which is pruning raspberries in the fall.
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Why pruning raspberries in the fall?
Autumn pruning is carried out for three reasons:
- in raspberries, only shoots no older than two years bear fruit. Therefore, old branches can be removed at the root. If this is not done, the raspberry grows into dense thickets and gives rare small berries.
- remont raspberries lose a lot of energy during fruiting, which is not limited to one or two months. So that by next year the bushes have a sufficient supply of nutrients for the crop, you need to rid the root system of unnecessary ground parts before the onset of winter cold. Thanks to this, the roots do not waste juices in vain, accumulating useful elements.
- pruning will call to get rid of the pathogenic spores of fungi and pests that live on wood. If you do everything right, then in the spring you can expect a powerful wave of growth.
Trimming Technique
Pruning raspberries is carried out in the period from September to early November, or shortly before frost, if winter promises to be early. Sometimes there are recommendations to start this immediately after the last harvest. For repair raspberries, this is true, that is, in early September, you can begin to work. But it is allowed to do this later. The main thing is to catch the cold.
The technique is simple and consists of the following stages:
- With the help of a sharp secateurs, weak, sick, thin, old shoots and those that obviously thicken the plantations are first removed under the root.
- There should be some space between the branches: tight weaving of trunks is unacceptable. The optimal number of shoots that can be left on one bush is 8-10 pcs.
- All fallen raspberry leaves and broken off knots are removed with a rake. Unripe (not having time to wood) branches are shortened. Strong annual lignified tops leave strong. All plant debris is raked and burned.
- After that, trimming trunks that have successfully passed rigorous selection is started.
What height should be cut?
The height to which raspberries are cut depends on the age of the shoots and the strength of their growth. Biennial stems are removed under the root. Annual tops are shortened by 30-80%. Moreover, the more powerful the growth force of a given variety, the more they are trimmed. The approximate height of the cropped shoot should be 1-1.4 meters. Some varieties (Indian Summer-2, Penguin, Hercules, Diamond) in the first year are extremely plentiful in bloom and bear fruit. They should be cut completely: young shoots in spring will grow from the roots.
From each branch the secateurs remove the remaining leaves, which are immediately sent to the fire or at least to the compost pit at a decent distance from the raspberry.
In the southern regions, double pruning is practiced, which is carried out in two stages. In the first year, at the very beginning of June, when the annual tops reach a height of 80-100 cm, the tops are cut by about 15 cm. As a result, second-order branches begin to grow actively. In the late spring of next year, when the leaves bloom, these side shoots are also shortened by 15 cm. In June, they will give a plentiful harvest and will delight the gardener with berries until October.
Important! After trimming, you can process the remaining ground parts with a solution of phytosporin or iron sulfate to destroy the pathogenic environment on wood.
Essential raspberry pruning tools
There are no trifles in this business. And one of the factors that should not be neglected is the severity of the secateurs. It is more convenient to use special scissors for prickly bushes, which differ in longer handles. Sometimes it happens that a thick shoot cannot be cut off exactly by a secateurs: it seems to crumple between the blades. For such cases, in order to align the slices, you need to have a sharp razor or garden knife blade.
Another type of pruning shears is the delimbers. To work with raspberry bushes, it is unlikely to be needed, unless we are talking about neglected plantings, where there are already three-year-old trunks.
You will also need a rake to rake not only the prickly cut branches, but also all the fallen leaves. Pests and pathogenic spores safely overwinter in this environment, so the collected organics must be burned.
Important! Dull tools leave barbs and bumps on the slices, which have a high risk of fungal infections.
Raspberry care after pruning
After pruning, the raspberry needs a little care, which is as follows:
- Bushes should be carefully watered, since in winter the soil should nourish the stems.
- To prevent freezing of the remaining raspberries, especially remontant, it is recommended to shelter it for the winter.
- So that moisture does not evaporate, the soil around the shrub must be mulched. This event will also protect the root system from freezing, especially if the winter stands out with little snow.
- Feeding raspberries is very important after pruning, as during the winter period it should not only rest, but also gain strength.
What and how to properly feed raspberries will be considered in the next section.
How to feed raspberries after the procedure?
How to feed raspberries after pruning depends on the availability of organic fertilizers. Bird droppings and manure are what organic raspberries love. But in their absence, mineral fertilizers can be used.
Common types of dressing
| Name of feeding | Prescription or dosage | Feeding Features |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken droppings - perfect nutrition | It is not used in its pure form. He gets divorced in water at a ratio of 1:30 | You can mix litter with compost in a one to one ratio, add dry fallen leaves of trees and peat. The resulting mixture is applied to the topsoil around the raspberry to a depth of 10 cm, spending 10 kg per 1 sq. meter. |
| Manure | Contribute to the topsoil at the rate of 6 kg per 1 sq. Km. meter | Soon after surface digging, it will begin to decompose, generating heat during the fall and winter. This reduces the risk of freezing. |
| Monophosphate (mineral fertilizer) | Contribute to the surface layer of the earth in the amount of 30-40 grams per bush. | In the fall, after pruning, the plant needs phosphorus and potassium. One of the best options is monophosphate, containing about half the mass fraction of phosphorus and a third of potassium. |
| Mineral complex | A solution made up of 50-60 grams of superphosphate, 35-40 grams of potassium nitrate or potassium magnesia, a few teaspoons of wood ash. | The dosage depends on the volume of the bush, the larger it is, the more fertilizer it needs. But you should remember that you can not violate the instructions for use indicated on the package. An overdose can lead to depression of the bush or even its drying out. |
| Peat | In the immediate vicinity of the bushes, the digging depth should not exceed 10 cm. Between the bushes and rows, you can go deep to 20 cm | Positive effect on productivity. It makes the soil lighter and more breathable. The main thing is not to damage the root system with a shovel. |
| Siderata | If in the summer siderats were planted between the bushes, then in the autumn they mow, and the soil is dug shallowly. |
Important! Do not fertilize raspberries with nitrogen fertilizers, as this will cause the growth of young shoots, which is extremely undesirable on the eve of winter.
Cutting remontant raspberries in autumn and subsequent care
Trimming remont raspberries does not require much professionalism. It is only important to have a sharp tool and know the technology. The correct implementation of all autumn procedures will allow you to get unprecedented crops, which owners of ordinary varieties could not even think of.
If the climate in the region where the remontant raspberries are grown is harsh (the latitudes of Moscow and to the north), it makes sense to shelter it for the winter. You can do this in late autumn, shortly before the winter cooling. If conventional pruning was carried out, then the remaining branches are wound into bundles and bent to the ground with a wire. Thanks to this, the snow lingers between them in winter, which protects the bushes from freezing. In the northernmost and coldest regions (St. Petersburg, Siberia), you can cover the bushes with tarpaulin, but make sure that no ice crust forms on the surface of the material in winter. If this does happen, the ice is broken so that it does not interfere with ventilation. Shelters are removed in April or early May.
The second thing that is recommended to do is abundantly water the plantings and mulch the soil. A layer of mulch allows you to save moisture. As covering material use straw, dry leaves of trees, sawdust, peat.
Repairing varieties of any crops require a little more attention than ordinary ones. Just removing the shoots is not enough! In order for the plant to gain strength during the winter and give powerful young stems in the spring, it is necessary to correctly carry out the procedure, apply fertilizers, water the bushes abundantly, cultivate and mulch the soil, and in the cold climatic zones - to cover raspberries for the winter.
