The beginning gardener may not have enough knowledge about how and when to cut raspberries to get the maximum yield. First of all, he should know that this is a shrub consisting of aboveground and underground parts. Its fruiting always occurs on shoots at the age of two years, which die off immediately after this process. New shoots, in turn, grow from the recovery buds that appear on the rhizome of the plant. During the first year, these shoots grow intensively, and at the beginning of the second give flower buds and fruits.
How to prune raspberries in the summer?
This shrub is usually trimmed in late summer or early fall. The procedure is carried out immediately after fruiting. At this time, the gardener removes all sprouts that have served their purpose and performs additional sanitary pruning. During this process, all broken and weak branches of raspberries are completely removed.
In order to create raspberries optimal light and air regime, it is necessary to remove most of its shoots. It is considered normal to leave from eight to twelve annual shoots per 1 linear meter of shrub. The removed parts of the bush must be burned, since in most cases they contain various spores of fungal diseases and pests.
How to prune raspberry bushes?
Usually this procedure begins in early spring. At this time, a slight shortening of the tops of the bush is made: about ten to fifteen centimeters. This approach allows you to slow down the development of shoots and direct the main flow of nutrients to the flower buds, which, in turn, allows you to get a plentiful crop in mid-July.
Some gardeners wonder how and when to prune raspberries to produce a long fruiting period. During the spring procedure, the shoots are shortened to different lengths. To do this, they are divided into three relatively equal groups. The former remove about fifteen centimeters, the latter are shortened by half, and the third are cut off almost completely, leaving about ten to twenty centimeters. This method allows you to get a phased ripening of berries, starting from the tenth of July and ending with the first of September.
How and when to trim raspberries with double pruning?
In the past few years, gardeners have practiced the so-called double pruning method, which allows you to increase the productivity of the bush due to the formation of lateral fruiting branches. To do this, at the very beginning of June, the shoots of restoration, which have reached a meter height, are pinched, removing the apex, by about five centimeters. This procedure allows you to awaken the lateral buds and get several lateral branches by the fall. Next spring, they are again trimmed by ten centimeters, which allows them to receive a plentiful additional crop.
Any novice gardener will be interested in how and when to cut raspberries to increase its fruiting properties. The most important rule in this process is not to allow the bush to thicken. There is a time to thin out raspberries and monitor its health, then you can enjoy a rich harvest of sweet and incredibly healthy berries every year.