Raspberry Care In Autumn, Preparation For Winter

2025 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 12:41

Raspberry in autumn: care and preparation for winter

In the autumn period after the harvest, the raspberry plant requires special care and attention, since the fruiting of the crop in the next year directly depends on the correctly carried out agrotechnical measures. Plants properly prepared for winter will be able to accumulate more strength and winter without loss. Autumn procedures for caring for raspberries are reduced to pruning, feeding and preparation for wintering.

Content

• 1 Autumn pruning of raspberries

  1.1 Video: how to properly cut a raspberry in the fall

• 2 Autumn feeding of raspberries

  2.1 Video: how to feed the raspberry in the fall

• 3 Preventive treatment of raspberries

• 4 Preparing the raspberry for winter

  • 4.1 Mulching

  • 4.2 Bending down and tying up

    4.2.1 Video: how to bend raspberries for the winter

  • 4.3 Shelter for the winter

    4.3.1 Video: warming raspberries for the winter with dry foliage

  • 4.4 Snow retention

• 5 Features of autumn care for remontant raspberries

  5.1 Video: features of care in the fall for remontant raspberry varieties

• 6 Video: basic activities for caring for a raspberry tree in autumn

Autumn pruning of raspberry

Pruning is considered an especially important procedure, without which normal fruiting of the berry bush is impossible. Raspberries have a two-year growing cycle. The first season, the shoots just grow, carrying nothing but foliage. The next year, flower buds form on them and then the berries ripen. After that, the fruiting branches die off. If they are not removed in time, then the raspberry plantings will turn into a thorny and impassable jungle. Last year's old branches are a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria and insect pests that need to be destroyed.

If the raspberry is not cut, then it turns into impassable thickets

An adult plant is capable of producing more than 20 young stems in one season. All of them draw out food and take away juices from fruiting branches, interfering with fruiting. If you leave all the stems that have grown during the growing season in the fall and do not thin out the shrub, then you can not wait for a good harvest next year. In addition, extra shoots thicken the bush, prevent the penetration of sunlight inside and prevent air masses from circulating freely.

In the fall, all unnecessary shoots that thicken the bush are necessarily cut out

Most gardeners practice early pruning, as soon as they are finished picking. Then all the life forces of the bush will be directed to the benefit of the grown young, which will have time to woody before the onset of frost. Healthy and strong shoots of the current year will have a better chance of overwintering well, thereby guaranteeing a bountiful harvest in the next season.

After pruning, all plant residues (stems, foliage, etc.) must be burned

The work technology is as follows:

1. Harvested last year's fruiting shoots. They differ from young branches in dark brown cracked and in places flaky bark, as well as in the presence of lateral processes.

   

   Two-year-old shoots differ from annuals in dark brown scaly bark

2. Sick and infected stems are cut out to avoid the spread of infection.

   

   It is necessary to cut out all diseased and damaged stems

3. Curved, broken and thin elongated stems are removed.

   

   Curved and thin branches are removed

4. Cut off young, still green, immature shoots that have appeared quite recently. They still do not have time to woody before winter and will certainly freeze out.

   

   Young green shoots are cut out, which still will not ripen until winter

5. Free the bush from unnecessary thickening stems. The remaining shoots deprive them of growth points, shortening the top of the head by 10-15 cm. Having stopped their growth, they will ripen better.

   

   The tops of raspberry shoots are shortened by 10-15 cm

Thinning the shrub, choose about 5-7 of the most powerful and strong shoots. It is recommended to leave branches that do not block each other and are arranged in a fan-like manner. All shoots that have gone beyond the border of the area assigned to raspberries must be removed (cut down or dug out for reproduction).

After pruning raspberries, 5-7 strongest shoots should remain

It is very convenient to cut raspberries with a lopper

I always try to cut the raspberries as early as possible, often I do not even wait for the last berries to ripen. Usually this time falls in mid-August. The fact is that young shoots are not always able to be tied to the trellis in time. If you do this already late in the fall, then the branches become extremely fragile, at the end of summer they are still quite flexible and they can be identified without loss in the right place.

Video: how to properly cut a raspberry tree in the fall

Autumn feeding raspberry

After pruning is done, remove any debris under the bushes and weed out. Old mulch and fallen leaves must be collected and burned, since various harmful insects like to settle in this litter for the winter. Plants weakened by fruiting should be fed so that they can accumulate enough nutrients for the next growing season and survive the winter well.

Under the raspberry bushes, you need to weed out and loosen the ground

Nitrogen-containing top dressing in the fall is excluded, since this can provoke an increased growth of the green mass, which will not have time to lignify and die from frost. Preference is given to substances with a high content of potassium and phosphorus.

Dry granules are evenly scattered under the bushes, then embedded in the ground and watered well

After fruiting, the raspberry tree is fed with any of the following:

• Mineral potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. The granules are laid out in special grooves made around the perimeter of the bush at a distance of about 25-30 cm from it, sprinkled with soil and spilled abundantly with water. You can use:

  • potassium monophosphate - 35-40 g per bush;

    

    In autumn, raspberries are fed with fertilizers of the potassium-phosphorus group

  • potassium salt (potassium sulfate) - 40 g and superphosphate - 60 g per plant.

    

    Superphosphate and potassium salt are added together

• Rotted manure. Lay out under bushes (4-6 kg per 1 m ²), then dig up the soil, covering the fertilizer

  

  Rotted manure is scattered under raspberry bushes

• Wood ash. Spread it evenly and rake it into the soil (150-200 g per 1 m ²).

  

  Ashes are scattered under the bushes, then they are covered with a rake in the ground

Marzan sulphate and zinc sulphate boost immunity

Video: how to feed the raspberry in the fall

Preventive treatment of raspberries

If there are traces of the vital activity of pathogenic bacteria or insect pests on the plants, it is recommended as a preventive measure to treat raspberry bushes with the following fungicidal preparations:

• Bordeaux liquid (3-5%);

  

  Bordeaux liquid is used for the preventive treatment of raspberries against fungal diseases

• copper sulphate - 50–75 g per 10 l (first dilute the powder in a small amount of warm water);

  

  Copper sulfate powder is first dissolved in a small amount of warm water, then diluted to the required volume

• iron vitriol - 250 g per 10 liters.

  

  A solution of ferrous sulfate can also be sprayed with raspberry bushes against diseases

To prevent insect damage, insecticides are used:

• Fufanon - 10 ml per 10 liters;

  

  Fufanol is a fast-acting insecticide

• Inta-Vir - 1 tablet per bucket;

  

  Inta-Vir is effective against a large number of pests

• Actellik - 2 ml per 2 liters.

  

  Aktellik drug successfully fights against aphids, whiteflies and other harmful insects

Spraying is carried out at the rate of 1–1.5 liters of working solution per 1 bush. It is necessary to water the soil under the plants with the composition.

Preparing raspberries for winter

Immediate preparatory activities are as follows:

• mulching;
• bending to the ground and tying;
• shelter for the winter;
• snow retention.

Mulching

In mid-autumn (from late September to mid-October), the ground under raspberry bushes is covered with a thick layer of mulch (10-15 cm) from:

• straw;
• dry grass;
• fallen leaves;
• peat;
• humus;
• sawdust (stale);
• needles, etc.

The mulching layer will protect the roots from frost and become an additional fertilizer when overheating.

Raspberries are mulched with sawdust, straw, bark, etc.

Bending down and tying

It is recommended for the winter to bend raspberry branches to the ground at such a height that they are completely covered by the fallen snow cover. Usually, for wintering without loss, it is enough to bend the shoots to 0.5–0.6 above the soil level. This is done before the onset of negative temperatures (up to 0 ° C). At this time, the stems still bend easily, at lower rates they become brittle and fragile, so it is unlikely to bend them.

It is recommended to bend raspberries to the ground for the winter.

First, you need to clean the stems from the foliage that has not yet fallen, since when they get wet and subsequent decay, flower buds can also be damaged. It is not difficult to remove the leaves: the raspberry shoot is not tightly clamped with a hand in a cloth glove or mitten, then it is carried out in the direction from the bottom up. This will prevent the buds from breaking off and free the branch from unnecessary foliage.

There are several options for bending raspberries for the winter.

There are several ways to bend crimson stems:

• The branches of each raspberry bush are collected in a bunch, loosely tied with a rope or twine, and the whole bunch is bent to the ground. Then they fix it in this position with a bracket that is stuck into the ground.

  

  Several branches of raspberries are collected in a bunch, bent and fixed to the ground with staples

• If raspberries are planted on a trellis, then the shoots are tilted and tied to the lowest wire.

  

  If raspberries are planted near the fence, then you can tie the whips to it

• Stakes are stuck along the edges of the row, onto which two rows of thick wire are pulled (0.2 and 0.6 m from the ground). Branches in small bunches or separately are attached first to the upper string, then, when the lashes get used to the new position in space, they are lowered lower. This method is convenient where winters with little snow and a high risk of freezing.

  

  Raspberries are bent and tied to a specially stretched wire

• Branches in several pieces are bent in an arc, tilted and attached to a support near the ground. The next bundle is fixed to the bottom of the previously formed arc. The method is the simplest, but it does not allow the raspberry shoots to bend low enough.

  

  Bunches of raspberry shoots are tied to each other

• In the middle of the bush, a vertical support peg is installed, to which the stems are then tied. Frost-resistant varieties do not need to be bent, it is enough to tie them into a bunch so that the branches do not break from strong gusts of wind.

  

  Raspberries are tied to a center peg

We have raspberries planted along the fence on the northern side of it and therefore are constantly swept by snow. There is no need to bend the branches to the ground, as they only break under the weight of the snow cover. I only tie the shoots in several pieces so that they are not broken off by the wind. Even in Siberia, sometimes only the very tops of the head freeze.

Video: how to bend raspberries for the winter

Shelter for the winter

Some capricious thermophilic raspberry varieties will need to be additionally covered. To do this, use the following materials:

• agrotechnical fabric and various non-woven covering fabrics;
• spruce branches;
• humus, peat, loose earth (pre-dig a shallow trench in which branches are laid).

Some varieties of raspberries need additional cover for the winter.

Video: warming raspberries for the winter with dry foliage

Snow retention

The best and, moreover, completely free insulation is snow. For the formation of a snow cover in areas with little snow, various snow retention devices are installed around the raspberry tree:

• boards made of plywood, polycarbonate, etc.;
• twigs stuck in the ground in a checkerboard pattern, dry stems of sunflower, corn, etc.

For snow retention, special shields are installed

The thickness of the snow cover for warming the raspberry tree must be at least 1 m.

Features of autumn care for remontant raspberries

A little differently, autumn care is carried out for remontant varieties of raspberries, which are distinguished by the possibility of two-time fruiting in one season. If a one-time collection of berries is planned, then in the fall the remontant raspberries are completely cut out at the root. If you want to get a second later harvest, annual shoots are left.

Repaired raspberries are cut in late autumn

Pruning is carried out in late autumn, after freezing of the upper layer of the earth and the establishment of subzero temperatures. All shoots are cut flush with the soil level, without leaving hemp. Then the site is cleaned of plant residues (fallen leaves, old mulch, etc.), which are burned together with the cut branches.

Try not to leave stumps when cutting remontant raspberries in the fall

In Siberia, it is not possible to grow two raspberry crops in one season. Usually cold weather sets in when re-flowering begins and the berries are just tied. I remove all vegetative mass in the fall almost through the snow, when everything is freezing. In the spring, strong young and healthy shoots appear, on which the fruits ripen later than on simple raspberries. But on the other hand, the berries can be harvested until the very frost, until the branches are frozen.

Video: features of care in the fall for remontant varieties of raspberries

Video: the main measures for caring for a raspberry in autumn

Accurate adherence to all agrotechnical measures for caring for the raspberry tree in the autumn will allow the plants to survive the winter safely and please their owners with an abundant harvest of tasty, fragrant and extremely useful berries for the next year.