Enjoy fresh homegrown raspberries. Raspberries are easy to grow, easy to pick and so tasty—as long as you know how to prune them.
How to Grow Raspberries in Your Own Yard
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Types of Raspberries to Grow
Raspberries are bramble-type fruit plants that send up new shoots from the ground every year. They’re generally hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 9, and can easily form a thicket if not pruned back.
There are two main types of raspberries for home gardeners, and many varieties within those types. If you live in one of the colder or warmer hardiness zones, make sure you select a raspberry variety known to grow well in your climate. Consult your local extension agent for recommendations.
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Summer Bearing Raspberries
Summer bearing raspberries produce one crop of berries in the summer on slender woody stems, called canes, in their second year of growth. These two-year-old canes are called floricanes. ‘Nova Red‘ is an example.
Everbearing Raspberries
Everbearing varieties produce two berry crops each season, one in summer on the two-year-old floricanes, and another in early fall on the one-year-old canes, which are called primocanes. Try ‘Heritage,’ ‘Caroline,’ and ‘Autumn Bliss’ for everbearing red raspberries, and ‘Kiwi Gold’, ‘Fall Gold,’ or ‘Anne’ for everbearing gold raspberries.
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How to Grow and Care for Raspberries
- Watering: Water your newly planted raspberries deeply if you aren’t getting an inch or so of rain in a given week. After the first year, you generally won’t need to water unless you live where irrigation is always needed, or there is a drought.
- Weeding: Keep your row of raspberries weed-free, being careful not to break off canes when pulling weeds.
- Fertilizing: Fertilize raspberries early in the spring as they begin to grow. Stop fertilizing around July 1. Use a balanced fertilizer with equal parts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Read the package and follow the application instructions.
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How To Prune Raspberries
This part confuses many gardeners. Raspberries are brambles that send out runners to form new shoots. To keep rows to a manageable width, pull out any runners growing too far out from the center of the row, roots and all. They should pull out easily and then can be cut off.
Other pruning depends on which type of raspberries you’re growing.
Pruning Summer Bearing Raspberries
- The first year, don’t prune summer bearing raspberries.
- In the second year and subsequent years, cut back any berry-producing canes down to the ground after the berries have been picked, using sharp hand pruners. Leave non-fruiting canes to grow. They’ll produce berries the second year.
- Every spring, thin out smaller, spindly canes to prevent overcrowding.
Pruning Everbearing Raspberries
- The first year, don’t prune.
- In the second and subsequent years, cut back to the ground any cane that had berries on it in June and July after you’ve picked the berries. Leave remaining canes, which will flower and have berries on them in September.
- Every spring, cut back, by half their height, canes that fruited in September. These will have berries on them in June and July. Thin out smaller, spindly canes to prevent overcrowding.
Troubleshooting: Insects and Diseases
Healthy plants often can sustain a little insect damage and still produce a good fruit crop. Seek out disease-free varieties.
You can maintain the health of your raspberry plants by pruning out spindly growth and canes that have fruited. After a cane has fruited, it will not produce more berries.
Harvest Your Raspberries
Raspberries are ready to pick when they easily slip off the stem with a gentle tug. Wash and enjoy. You can also store the fresh berries in a refrigerator for a few days.
If you have a lot of raspberries, use them to make jam or jelly, or clean and freeze them.
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