Summer raspberries after harvest: remove old canes and tie in new growth
AI-generated illustrative image.
After harvest, summer-fruiting raspberries carry spent fruiting canes alongside vigorous growth made this year. Confirm the type of raspberry and make sure harvesting has finished before you tidy the framework, so you do not remove the canes that should crop next summer.
Five steps for summer-fruiting raspberries
Confirm the type and the end of harvest
This guide applies to red and yellow summer-fruiting raspberries once harvesting has completely finished. Autumn-fruiting cultivars often continue to crop on the current season’s canes into October and are not treated in the same way.
Identify the spent fruiting canes
Look for canes that fruited this summer: they are woody and carry old fruit stalks and numerous fruiting side shoots. Colour alone is not reliable, because this year’s canes may also turn brown by autumn.
Remove old canes at ground level
Cut out only the canes that have definitely finished fruiting, as close to ground level as practical. Remove diseased, broken or very weak growth as well. Use clean, sharp tools and dispose of diseased prunings separately.
Select strong new canes
Keep healthy, well-spaced canes made this year. As a guide, the RHS suggests six to eight strong canes per plant and spacing them about 10 cm apart along the wire; plant vigour and the form of your support take priority. Thin out growth that remains overcrowded.
Tie the canes in loosely
Arrange the new canes clearly across the framework and tie them in without constricting them. A figure-of-eight tie between cane and wire helps keep them apart. Check later that each tie still supports the cane without cutting into it, and replace anything tight or worn.
Autumn-fruiting raspberries need a different decision
Autumn-fruiting raspberries crop on canes made in the current season. Under the usual single-crop system, all of these canes are cut down to ground level in the leafless period in late winter, normally in February. If you are unsure of the cultivar or training system, wait before pruning and identify it first.
A quick cane check
- Spent fruiting cane: old fruit stalks, many short side shoots and no crop left to pick.
- New cane: vigorous growth made this year without spent fruiting laterals.
- Tie: loose, secure and with room for the stem to thicken.
- Unknown cultivar: do not prune in haste; confirm the type and training system first.
The product image shows the original product currently offered. This guide applies to red and yellow summer-fruiting raspberries after harvest has fully finished; black, purple and differently trained raspberries may need different treatment.
