There is probably not a single person who would not like the sweet and juicy fruits of such a useful berry bush as raspberries. For this reason, this useful plant is grown in almost every household plot, since many amateur gardeners seek to provide themselves with healing berries not only for the summer, but also for the winter, having prepared delicious raspberry jam. However, as in any business, raspberry breeding has its own tricks and secrets, among which an important place is given to such an annual operation as raspberry pruning.
First of all, you should know that raspberries are a perennial berry bush on which substitution branches grow annually, which yield the next year. Actually, the ovaries of the berries themselves are formed on them, the amount of which our crop depends on. After fruiting already in autumn, all old shoots should be cut out at the very base and taken out from the garden plot, since they may contain pathogens of various plant diseases. During the entire vegetative period (from early spring to the end of summer), about 6–10 such substitution shoots can grow in an ordinary bush, which must be thinned out without fail, removing weak and broken branches. Remember that the correct pruning of raspberries is the key to the success of the future harvest.
A real revolution in raspberry farming was made by the scientific discovery of the famous raspberry gardener Sobolev, who in the late 80s published his double-pruning method, thanks to which he managed to collect up to 150 kg of berries from 4 acres of land. His secret was precisely in the fact that competent pruning of raspberries made it possible to achieve the additional appearance of lateral shoots of substitution, which the next year, as a result of repeated pruning, give a lot of ovaries on each bush.
So, we will tell everything in order. In the spring, when young shoots extend approximately 70-90 cm (usually this occurs in late May-early June, which depends on the culture growing region), they should pinch the apex by 10-15 cm. After this, the growth of shoots up almost completely stops, and all the life force of the bush will be thrown into the side shoots. Such pruning of raspberries in the spring will be very useful, because during the summer up to six additional shoots appear on the bush, which have time to grow to 60-70 cm. In this form, the plants go out for the winter and, if necessary, they need to be pruned to the ground and covered with some or organic material so that the shoots do not freeze. This is especially important for the middle and northern strip of our country, where severe winters and severe frosts can significantly reduce future crops by freezing young branches. It is important to consider one circumstance here: all lateral shoots during the summer should have time to mature well, because otherwise they will definitely freeze out. It is for this reason that raspberries should be pruned in early spring so that the young shoots can grow stronger and numb before the onset of cold weather.
In the spring of next year, when the first leaves bloom on the plant, all fruit-bearing shoots should be pinched by 5-10 cm, which will be an incentive to awaken the sleeping buds, which will give additional branches with a lot of ovaries of the future harvest. As a result of such cunning agrotechnical manipulation, raspberries can be obtained throughout the second half of summer and even in September. If pruning raspberries is done in this way (double pruning), then many ordinary varieties of this berry shrub acquire the properties of remont raspberries and bear fruit a second time.
Thus, the important discovery of the scientist Sobolev allowed not only specialists - "malinovodam", but also all lovers of this wonderful culture to annually receive a stable harvest of healing and very tasty berries. When cultivating a crop in this way, raspberries are also trimmed in the fall, however, exclusively thawed shoots are removed here. If you want to thin out the bush, due to its neglect, then this operation should be left until spring. Be healthy and have a good harvest!