Raspberries

[SharonL]

2-3 years ago I planted raspberries that had belonged to my late mother. They were a variety suitable for growing in pots. The first year I left them in the pots and they did very well. After that, I planted them into the garden, close together as they had been used to being in close proximity with each other. The first year after doing so, the yield wasn't particularly high. However, last year I had a fantastic crop of summer raspberries. Later that year, the canes that had shot up for raspberries for this summer produced fruit. I cut the tops off and I had summer raspberries on the same canes that had produced autumn rasperries the year before. I have found the same thing has happened again this year. Has anyone else had this happen? Is there anyway of getting the raspberries to just produce fruit in the summer? I have to say the crop of autumn raspberries this year has been absolutely fantastic but living in the north I cannot always guarantee that the weather will be warm enough at this time of the year to ripen them.

[Nature's Babe]

It sounds like they are an autumn fruiting variety. All gold is, and that behaves in a similar way, they fruit on the tips in autumn and if you prune off the part that fruited, the lower part of the cane remains to produce fruit in the next summer, so you end up getting two half crops. Because you want it to fruit in the summer, it might be better to purchase some new canes that are early summer producers, after summr fruiting cut off the old canes and new canes grow to produce fruit the next summer. They are heavy feeders so remember to mulch with home grown compost or well rotted manure after fruiting. I also mulch on top of the compost with straw /dried grass to help conserve moisture, they like a moist root run.

[SharonL]

Thank you. They were summer fruiting until I planted them into the garden. They are a red variety. I will look at replacing them.

[Nature's Babe]

You could try cutting right to the ground and see what happens next year, but summer fruiting ones usually fruit all the way down the canes not just on the tips.