How to Prune Raspberry and Blackberry Plants

How to Prune Summer-bearing Raspberries

Summer-bearing (floricane) raspberries will provide one large harvest, usually in late summer or early fall. These raspberries bear fruit on two-year-old canes, the ones that sprouted the previous season. Summer-bearing raspberries can be further categorized as early season, mid-season, and late-season in terms of when they bear fruit. The harvest period lasts about four to five weeks.

1. Cut All Canes Near Ground Level

   In late winter or early spring, prune all canes (or stems) that bore fruit the previous year. They won't fruit again. These canes will have grayish, peeling bark. Cut them off near ground level using loppers or bypass pruners.

2. Remove Outside Canes

   Cut back the canes that are growing outside of a 12- to 18-inch row footprint of the plant. Raspberries are much easier to tend and harvest if they are kept confined in well-defined rows. Don't worry about pruning too much. Raspberries are very hardy and can bounce back from aggressive pruning.

3. Remove Unsightly Canes

   Remove any spindly or very short canes, using sharp pruners

4. Thin the Rest

   Thinning the rest of the canes will allow for about four or five of the healthiest, tallest, and fattest canes left per foot along the entire length of the row.

5. Tie the Canes

   Tie the canes to fencing or stakes for support, using flexible plant ties.

6. Prune Unwanted Canes

   During the summer, prune any dead, broken, or diseased canes that you spot. Also, remove any canes that sprout up outside the designated row area.

How to Prune Everbearing Raspberries

Everbearing (primocane) raspberries aren't really everbearing. But they generally have two harvests per season: one in mid to late summer and one in fall. The fall crop will probably be a bit lighter and is produced on canes that developed during the current season. Many everbearing raspberries bear so late in the fall that they are not practical for gardeners in short-season climates. If you want everbearing raspberries to produce two crops each year, prune them as you would summer-bearing raspberries. But if you want to force a single larger crop in the fall, use the following procedure.

1. Prune the Whole Bush

   Prune back the entire raspberry bush to ground level in early spring.

2. Thin the Canes

   As the canes grow back in the summer, thin them to about 6 inches apart. Keep the sturdiest canes, and remove suckers outside your designated row footprint. This technique will give you a larger fall harvest. Plus, it's helpful if you also have summer-bearing raspberry bushes and you want staggered harvests.

3. Prune Unwanted Canes

   Throughout the summer, prune any dead, broken, or diseased canes, as well as any canes that sprout up outside the row footprint.

How to Prune Blackberries

Pruning blackberries is quite similar to pruning raspberries. Blackberries don't grow as enthusiastically as raspberries, but they also will yield better with regular pruning. As with raspberries, they're prone to diseases that can spread rapidly if the plants aren't maintained.

1. Prune Fruit-Bearing Canes

   In the fall, prune all canes that bore fruit shortly after harvesting your blackberries. Dispose of the clippings, as dead canes can spread disease.

2. Thin the Canes

   In the early spring, thin the canes to about five to seven per plant.

3. Prune Side Branches

   Also in the spring, prune back side branches on the remaining canes to about a foot long, containing roughly 12 buds. This "tip-pruning" will encourage the plant to branch out, leading to more fruit.

4. Tie the Pruned Canes

   Tie the pruned canes to support fencing or stakes, using flexible plant ties.

5. Inspect the Plants

   In the summer, routinely inspect your plants and remove any dead, diseased, or broken canes.