How to Prune Yellow Raspberries

Pruning is an important part of plant management.

Raspberries are a widely grown home fruit and are broadly classified as summerbearing and everbearing. The fruit belongs to the bramble plant group given the thorns on their biennial canes. Commonly grown raspberry varieties include the red, black and yellow raspberries. Yellow raspberries are actually a mutated form of red raspberries, often referred to as albino red raspberries. Yellow raspberries have the same growth requirements as the red raspberries and are also pruned in the same manner as the red varieties.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Cut all diseased and damaged canes to ground level in March or April using sharp pruning scissors. Also cut down all the weak and poorly growing canes.

2. Measure remaining canes from the ground. Those that are 1/4 inch in diameter 30 inches from the ground should remain. Make sure these are healthy, vigorous growing canes.

3. Measure the distance between the standing canes. These should be no more than six inches apart.

4. Cut and remove all winter-damaged tips of remaining canes. Prune all the way to healthy plant tissue.

5. Prune all the fruit-bearing canes to ground level after the last harvest in summer. Remove and destroy debris.

Tips & Warnings

• Raspberries are highly prone to viral diseases. Symptoms of infection include stunted and dwarfed growth and poor fruit production. Inspect your plants regularly to catch problems in early stages. Remove and destroy all infected plants immediately. To minimize chances of disease, it is best to obtain healthy plants from reliable sources.

• Avoid planting raspberries in areas where you had previously grown tomatoes, potatoes or eggplants. Also, do not plant your raspberries within 600 feet of wild raspberries or wild blackberries.

References

• University of Minnesota Extension; Raspberries for the Home Garden; Emily E. Hoover, et al.; July 2008
• Iowa State University Extension; Pruning Raspberries; Richard Jauron; April 2006
• University of Illinois Extension: Raspberries
• University of Maine Extension; Growing Raspberries and Blackberries; David T. Handley; 2006