✅ Pruning raspberries: tips from a professional

Slicing raspberries properly takes skill. We reveal all the tips for the right time for the cut and have a guide ready for you.

When to cut raspberries: in spring or in autumn?

Before you pull out the secateurs, you should first clarify which raspberry variety your plant is. A distinction is made between summer, autumn and so-called two-timer raspberries, i.e. specimens that bear fruit twice. These designations refer to the time of harvest. Depending on the type of raspberry, different pruning measures are taken at different times:

Summer raspberries: The ripening time is from June to July. The fruits are formed only on the biennial shoots. The old, worn-out, two-year-old shoots are pruned in the summer after the harvest, and the young shoots are pruned out in the spring after the last frost.
Autumn raspberries: These ripen from August to October. The fruits always grow on the annual shoots. It is pruned in autumn after the harvest.
Twotimer raspberries: This type of raspberry, which resulted from a cross between an autumn and a summer type, bears both one-year and two-year-old shoots. A smaller amount of fruit can therefore be harvested once in summer and again in autumn. Twotimer raspberries are pruned in spring.

Twotimer raspberries can be harvested twice a year

Cutting raspberries: Instructions for all raspberry types

In order to present the upcoming cutting measures and the appropriate periods of time clearly and without any risk of confusion, we have summarized them in a table for you. Depending on which type of raspberry you have chosen, you may have to reach for the scissors more than once a year. But don't worry - once you understand the principle of editing, editing is a logical and quick action.

Raspberry Type	Cut Time	Procedure
Twotimer Raspberries	spring	The two year oldsShoots that bore fruit last summer and are now clearly distinguishable from the fresh canes are cut off close to the ground.
Summer raspberries	After the summer harvest	During the harvest, new, green shoots have already formed. These are the canes that will bear fruit next summer. So don't cut them off. Instead, after the end of the harvest period, the old, brownish shoots from which you have previously harvested fruit are cut off close to the ground.
	After the last frost (around March)	From the new, green shoots that you all left standing in the autumn, now select the ten prettiest and he althiest-looking ones per meter. If there is a large selection of beautiful shoots, choose them so that the shoots grow in different directions and that each of the ten shoots has enough space around it. The remaining rods are all cut close to the ground. With older raspberry bushes, this measure may seem radical to you and you may have serious doubts as to whether you should really only leave ten rods. But trust us - 12 is fine too, but more will end up hurting yield, fruit size and plant he alth.
Autumn Raspberries	Autumn	Autumn raspberries make slicing even easier than summer raspberries. After harvesting in autumn, all shoots are simply cut off at ground level. The next spring, new canes form, and raspberries hang from them again in the fall. If your plant is he althy and there is no risk of diseases being transmitted to the new canes in the spring, you can also leave isolated shoots. These serve to protect nature and can be used by insects as a refuge for the winter.
All raspberry types	Autumn	In principle, diseased shoots should be cut off so as not to infect the whole plant. However, you do not need to cut yellowish leaves. These are a sign of nutrient deficiency, for example the magnesium deficiency that often occurs in raspberries. You can fix this with organic fertilizers in autumn or spring (until around May).

To prevent brown leaves, we recommend primarily organic fertilization with our Plantura organic universal fertilizer. This optimally supplies your raspberries with nutrients and thus prevents the formation of plant damage.

Tip that applies to all raspberry types: If the tendrils grow too much for you (i.e. higher than two metres), then cut them a hand's breadth above the trellis or at a height of about 1.50 meters. This encourages the formation of buds on the rest of the shoot for the coming year.

What type of raspberry did I plant?

In principle, autumn raspberries can be cut in the same way as summer raspberries. However, this does not work the other way around: summer raspberries that have been completely cut off will not bear any raspberries the next year, after all they bear fruit on the two-year-old shoots.