Pruning is an annual necessity for maintaining a healthy and productive raspberry patch, but the exact method depends entirely on the variety being grown. Raspberries are perennial plants with a long-lived root system, yet their above-ground stems, called canes, operate on a biennial cycle. Understanding this two-year growth pattern is the foundation for proper pruning, as cuts made at the wrong time or on the wrong cane can eliminate the following year’s harvest. The primary goal of this yearly maintenance is to remove spent growth, thin out overcrowded canes to improve air circulation, and encourage the growth of new, vigorous stems that will produce future harvests.
The Critical Difference: Summer-Bearing Versus Ever-Bearing
Raspberry varieties are categorized into two main groups based on when and on which cane they produce fruit. This distinction is based on the plant’s biennial cane lifecycle. The new, first-year cane is known as a primocane, which is focused on vegetative growth.
The primocane enters its second year, where it is renamed a floricane. This floricane stage is responsible for producing the main crop before the cane dies back to the ground. Established raspberry plants will have both primocanes and floricanes present simultaneously every year.
Summer-bearing raspberries, also known as floricane-fruiting varieties, produce fruit exclusively on the second-year canes (floricanes) during mid-summer. Varieties like ‘Latham’ and ‘Meeker’ offer a concentrated harvest over a few weeks. Conversely, ever-bearing raspberries, or primocane-fruiting types, produce fruit on the tips of the first-year canes (primocanes) in the late summer or fall.
If ever-bearing canes survive the winter, the lower portion becomes a floricane and produces a second, earlier crop the following summer. This dual-fruiting capacity gives growers two distinct pruning options for ever-bearing varieties, while summer-bearing types require a simpler annual cut.
Pruning Specifics for Summer-Bearing Varieties
Pruning summer-bearing raspberries is a straightforward, non-optional process focused on removing the spent floricanes to make room for the next generation of fruiting wood. The canes that produced fruit during the summer harvest are two years old and will not produce again, making their removal necessary for plant health. This removal should ideally occur immediately after the summer harvest is complete, or it can be delayed until the dormant season in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.
To prune, identify the floricanes—they will appear woody, brittle, and often have a grayish or brown color, in contrast to the smooth, green primocanes. Cut these spent canes back completely to the ground surface using clean, sharp pruners, ensuring no stubs are left behind, as stubs can harbor pests or disease. Failing to remove these dead canes can impede air circulation and light penetration, creating conditions conducive to fungal diseases.
Once the spent wood is removed, focus on thinning the remaining young primocanes—the current season’s growth that will fruit next year. These young canes should be thinned to a spacing of about six to eight inches apart to ensure each cane receives adequate light and air flow. Leaving only the strongest, thickest canes at this spacing promotes larger, higher-quality berries during the following summer harvest. The tips of these primocanes are generally not cut back unless they are damaged by winter cold or have grown too tall for the support system.
Pruning Specifics for Ever-Bearing Varieties
Ever-bearing raspberries offer flexibility in pruning, allowing the grower to choose between maximizing a single, large fall crop or harvesting two smaller crops annually. The easiest method, which results in one large harvest, is to cut every single cane down to the ground during late winter or early spring dormancy. This severe cut eliminates both the primocanes and the floricanes, sacrificing the early summer crop entirely.
New primocanes will emerge from the roots in the spring, producing a concentrated, heavy crop on their tips in the late summer or fall. This single-crop method is less labor-intensive and is often preferred in colder climates. The alternative method, known as double-cropping, retains the canes for a second harvest.
For the double-crop, only the tips of the primocanes that fruited in the fall are removed during the late winter dormancy. This cut is made just below the portion that bore fruit, leaving the lower two-thirds of the cane intact. The remaining lower sections of these canes function as floricanes and produce an early summer crop the following year. After that summer crop is finished, the entire spent floricane is cut back to the ground, leaving the new season’s primocanes to produce the fall harvest.