How to Trim Raspberry Canes

Proper pruning leads to more raspberry production.

Raspberries grow well in smaller areas in the yard, but they require proper trimming to remain healthy and productive. The plants grow as single canes. Each cane produces several lateral branches that bear the fruit. Each cane lives for two years, growing fruit in the second year. Once a cane has fruited, it must be trimmed away so new canes can grow in to replace it.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Trim out dead and winter-damaged canes in early spring before the plants begin actively growing again. Cut out these canes at ground level. Prune back dead cane tips to the nearest healthy wood.

2. Thin summer-bearing raspberry varieties in early spring. Cut canes smaller in diameter than ¼ inch back to the ground. Leave the remaining canes spaced approximately 6 inches apart.

3. Prune fall-bearing raspberries back to ground level in early spring for a single fall crop. Fall raspberries bear a small crop in summer and fall if left unpruned in spring, or a single large crop in fall if cut back to the ground.

4. Cut back all raspberry varieties once they finish fruiting for the season. Remove all the canes that just finished fruiting, cutting them back to the ground. Leave only the new, first-season canes in place.

Tips & Warnings

• If you allow fall raspberries to produce two crops, prune off the tips of the bearing canes after the first harvest in the summer.

References

• Iowa State University Extension: Pruning Raspberries
• North Carolina Extension: Raspberries for the Home Garden