raspberry pruning

Hi, I am new to growing fruit and I have some raspberry bushes which look healthy but I'm unsure what to do with them ! I cut all the old wood away a few weeks ago and
the new canes have already got the beginnings of what I think will be fruit but also there is loads of growth around the base of each plant with new leaves and shoots , should I remove these and just leave the longer canes?
Thank you in advance !

 

Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

Sounds like your rasps are the summer fruiting type and not autumn ones.

Yes, you did the right thing in cutting out the old brown stems from last year and it sounds good if the other tall shoots are forming flower buds; now is the time to start feeding them and as soon as the fruits form plenty of watering and a high potash feed like Tomato fertiliser.

The new shoots coming from the base are the canes for next year.

Once the fruits have been picked, you cut out, down to the base, all the canes that have fruited this summer, and those new shoots will then be about 4-5 ft high so you tie them in to the support wires etc so they do not get damaged overwinter.

You may find you have lots of these new canes, but its generally suggested in late summer when you come to tie them in, you just select 4, 5 or 6 of the strongest and cut the others down to the base, this tends to give you the best crop in terms of size and quantity.

 

Hi! Thanks for your reply, this is really helpful! I’ll make sure I feed them well and fingers crossed I’ll have a good crop.