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Although remontant raspberry appeared in Russia quite a long time ago, more than 30 years ago, controversy and discussions around it do not subside. Every gardener tries to find his own approach to growing this crop, and this is not without reason. Indeed, with the abundance of modern varieties, their characteristics can vary greatly. In addition, the climatic conditions of Russia are replete with such diversity that each region can be characterized by its own characteristics of growing raspberries, and this will be correct. Professionals who have already studied all the features of this raspberry far and wide cannot always come to a consensus on its cultivation.
For beginners, one of the most pressing questions is: “How to prune remontant raspberries?” This question is truly one of the most important and decisive ones related to caring for a remontant beauty. After all, its fruiting depends on pruning and nothing can be left to chance here. Therefore, it is necessary to consider all possible options and subtleties associated with this process.
Although remontance is usually understood as continuous fruiting, in the case of raspberries, everything does not happen quite like that.
Of course, flowers and ovaries appear relatively late, in most varieties closer to September, although among the recently developed varieties of remontant raspberries there are some that begin to bear fruit from the beginning of August. Not all ovaries have time to ripen, since in many regions of Russia September is the month of the first frosts. And although remontant raspberry bushes are characterized by sufficient cold resistance, the full harvest from these varieties can only be obtained in the south.
If you don’t do anything with the raspberry shoots in the fall after frost, they will go away before winter. But in the spring, with the onset of real warmth, they will begin to grow again, and in the summer they will begin to produce a crop of berries, like regular raspberries. But at the same time, in the spring, new annual shoots will begin to emerge from the dormant underground buds, which by the fall will also be able to yield some of the harvest, just like last year.
Everything would be fine, but in practice it was noticed that in most regions of Russia such a scheme for growing remontant raspberries does not work. Since the first harvest on two-year-old, overwintered shoots is of low quality berries. In addition, it takes away the strength of the bush, and the second, later harvest is even more delayed, which no longer makes any sense for the northern regions.
Therefore, agronomists have developed another, so-called annual technology for cultivating remontant raspberries:
- In the fall, after fruiting, absolutely all shoots of this raspberry are cut off at the root.There is no need to leave stumps of any height. All shoots with fallen leaves and unripe berries are raked and taken away from the site. This pruning can be done even after the top layer of soil has frozen and the first snow has fallen. After all, all this time, nutrients will flow to the roots from the aboveground part, and this will allow the raspberries to have a good start in the next season.
- In the spring, new annual shoots emerge from the ground, which gain enough strength over the summer to produce a good, powerful harvest of berries in the early fall.
- In the fall, after frost, remontant raspberries are pruned as described above again.
- As a result, instead of two harvests, you get only one, but of very good quality and in a season when ordinary raspberries are no longer available.
This method has several more advantages that are important for novice gardeners:
- By completely pruning all shoots for the winter, the problem of winter hardiness and covering of raspberry bushes is eliminated.
- Along with the pruned shoots, all possible carriers of infections and pests are removed from the area. Therefore, remontant raspberries do not need protective treatments with insecticides.
Features of pruning when obtaining two harvests
Russia is a huge country, so in some part of its territory it may well be feasible to grow remontant raspberries, when two harvests are obtained from them per season. In the southern regions, it is probably not worth neglecting the second harvest, since in most cases it can have time to ripen completely. Is it necessary to prune remontant raspberries in this case and how to do it?
To obtain two harvests, raspberries are not pruned at all in the fall. With the onset of spring, it is necessary to cut out all dry, substandard and thin shoots, leaving only 4-6 powerful branches.Somewhere in May - early June, when new annual shoots grow to a height of one meter, they need to be shortened by about half.
Depending on the variety and its characteristics, you can additionally cut out several young shoots at this time if they thicken the bush. Although usually remontant raspberry varieties are characterized by low shoot-forming ability.
Two-year-old shoots should be immediately cut off at ground level immediately after fruiting ends in July so that they do not take away nutrition from the new shoots.
You can watch another option for pruning remontant raspberries to get two harvests in the video:
Features of pruning: autumn or spring
As you can see, to the question: “How to properly prune remontant raspberries?” no, and there cannot be a clear answer. Everything greatly depends on the climatic conditions of the region where raspberries are grown. And even if you chose to grow remontant raspberries and get one, but good harvest in early autumn, then not everything is as simple as we would like.
What are these conditions?
Obviously, for regions with mild winters there is little point in autumn pruning, since even after the plants have fruited, under favorable conditions they will be able to develop for a long time, accumulating nutrients for future use. Moreover, if you prune raspberries in the fall, and frosts do not come in the next month and a half, then the underground buds on the rhizome may germinate prematurely.And with the onset of frost, they will freeze, and the next year’s harvest will be significantly reduced. Spring pruning can prevent all these problems.
Oddly enough, postponing the pruning of remontant raspberries to the spring is preferable for areas with harsh winters and little snow. At the same time, raspberry shoots that have not been removed can contribute to better snow retention. Moreover, according to the observations of experienced gardeners, the further north the region, the greater the productivity of raspberries is noted when pruning is carried out in early spring.
There is also an option to wait until the buds begin to open and only then completely prune the shoots. This makes sense, since at this moment the bushes will be able to replenish their supply of growth substances, which are formed only in the budding leaves. Therefore, after pruning raspberries at this particular time, the plant is able to quickly awaken and begin to grow, which is especially important for the northern regions.
All work is carried out in exactly the same way as during autumn pruning, only in the spring.
Varietal characteristics of raspberries
It seems that the answer to the question of how to prune raspberries has been received, but it turns out that remontant raspberries can still present many surprises.
The fact is that there are so-called semi-remontant varieties of raspberries.
They can be classified rather as ordinary raspberry varieties with some signs of remontancy. They differ in that they can produce a second harvest, but only at the very tops of the shoots.While true remontant varieties form ovaries along most of the shoots. If you cut them down to ground level in the fall, you will lose the summer harvest and the fall harvest will be pushed back to a later date. These varieties need to be cared for completely differently.
In autumn, it is necessary to trim only the upper part of the shoot that was loaded with berries. In the spring, as usual, the bush is normalized - that is, all excess shoots that can thicken the raspberry bush are cut off. In the summer, these raspberry varieties will produce a good harvest on the shoots left over from the winter. Immediately after fruiting ends, two-year-old shoots are pruned. These varieties do not require any further pruning.
Of course, pruning remontant raspberries is not the easiest thing, but after familiarizing yourself with all the nuances of this process, you will be able to keep your plantings in perfect condition and enjoy tasty and juicy berries.
