raspberries

[stanhol]

Hi all, am hoping someone can help , I am a little confused, not an unusual state!

I have a raspberry that has already fruited, I understand that I need to prune the canes that held fruit this year and not the ones that didnt! The problem is the canes that didnt hold fruit are enormous and very straggley if thats a word! What to do?!


I have some pics just taken,
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa251/stanhol/

Also can anyone recommend a good book for fruit trees and soft fruits?

Many thanks Sandra

[TPeers]

Good photos.

I suggest fixing some wires to that lovely wall and tying the canes in to that. You will need vine-eyes which get hammered into the wall and then stretch the wires between them, usind a tensioner. All should be available at the garden center or local hardware store.

Alternatively, as you only have a couple of canes at the moment you could bang in a nail and tie the cane to that......

Up to you whether you prune now or wait until the plant is dormant over the winter. If you prune now you may get a few new shoots showing up before the Autumn frosts, they may be short but might still provide a berry or two. If you leave the pruning until later, the plant will store more energy to fund next years growth.....

[stanhol]

Many thanks for your reply, I will tie them back.
I didnt realise how tall they got, so I was fussing for nothing!!
I will as you suggest wait so next years harvest will be better, when would you suggest pruning?

Many thanks again,
Sandra

[Lesley Jay]

Sandra raspberries can be pruned any time up till February.

[Jooles]

Just want to make sure of this before I do something awful to my plant!

My 'Malling Promise' raspberry has not flowered at all this year....although healthy looking and lots of shoots. The info on this plant said July harvest time- but there was no blossom in May or June

Should I prune at this stage? And could I take cuttings off this plant?

[Lesley Jay]

Malling Promise is a summer fruiting variety so it will fruit next year. When the fruit is finished (next year) you need to cut the canes that carried fruit down to the ground but leave new canes that didn't bear fruit alone as these will fruit the following year. It's like a two year cycle - the canes grow one year and fruit the next. New canes will grow every year. The plant sends out suckers which you can dig up and replant as extra canes.

[Jooles]

Thanks-I wasthinking I had to cut all down so I am glad I checked before doing that as I would be waiting another year for the raspberries.....

[hubballi]

Mine are fruiting ok but are covered (like everything else) with tiny snails that are eating the fruit. In fact, snails have stripped the leaves of my Hollyhock which are next to the raspberries. I even get snails on my bird feeder after the seed. They really are a curse in my small walled garden.

[Lesley Jay]

Hubballi slugs and snails don't like garlic and you can spray edible crops with a garlic spray which should keep them off your plants.

You can buy it here or you can make your own.

http://www.slugitout.co.uk/displaypr...ontrol&lnk=sub

[hubballi]

Thanks for the tip but will my raspberries taste of garlic ?

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by hubballi

Thanks for the tip but will my raspberries taste of garlic ?

I don't know!! People spray edible crops with garlic and I have always wondered if the veg would have a garlic flavour. I think with raspberries being a soft fruit that you should spray the stems and the leaves as the snails must travel up to get to the raspberries. As your garden is heaving with snails it's worth a try. I would spray everything. I would also pick the snails off by hand and throw them in a bucket of salted water.

[hubballi]

Once I have picked them, is there anything else I should do to encourage more fruit ?

[Lesley Jay]

Raspberry canes will not produce much fruit in their first year. As the canes become established then the crop will become larger each year. A way to prolong the fruiting season is to grow different varieties. There are early summer, mid summer, late summer and autumn varieties so if you have the room you can extend the number of months that you have fresh raspberries.