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Oh no! Autumn is already here and forgot to cut the raspberries. Now the question arises as to how to proceed. Let the hedge rest or cut it back quickly before winter?

In a nutshell

  • As a rule, the worn canes of summer varieties are cut back after the harvest
  • Note differences between varieties
  • Raspberries survive one or more years without appropriate pruning
  • denser branching makes it difficult to harvest the following year
  • lower crop yield without pruning, as the plant invests a lot of energy in old canes

Difference between summer and autumn raspberries

Raspberries are not just raspberries. There are summer varieties that, as the name suggests, bear their fruit in summer. There are also plants that only let their tasty fruits ripen in autumn. There are other important differences here, which are also not insignificant for the time of cutting:

  • Summer raspberries bear fruit on biennial canes
  • here the annual canes are left standing
  • only the two-year-old ones removed
  • Autumn raspberries appear on one-year-old shoots
  • thus all shoots are removed in the year
  • all shoots are cut
Raspberry pruning in spring

notice: You can therefore assume with the two raspberry varieties that the summer raspberries will remain as a hedge even after pruning, while the autumn varieties will be pruned back down to the base.

Cut summer varieties

Actually, early autumn is the right time for cutting summer varieties. If you cut later, frost can quickly strike the interfaces and the shrubs could be damaged. If you forgot to cut the raspberry bushes after the harvest, you can still do this in the spring:

  • before the new shoot
  • in early spring
  • remove the dry wood
  • leave whatever is in the juice

notice: If you forget to cut your raspberries after harvesting, then unfortunately this will always be at the expense of the next harvest.

Cut autumn varieties

The ideal time for cutting the autumn varieties of raspberries is different than for the summer varieties. Even if many hobby gardeners already cut these shrubs in autumn after the harvest, the right time here looks different:

  • Cut back after winter
  • Late winter or early spring
  • before the next shoot
New shoots appear on pruned autumn raspberries. If you forgot to cut the raspberries, that does not mean the end of the plant.

Notice: So you haven't forgotten to prune your fall varieties here if you didn't prune the shrubs in the fall after harvest. This is completely normal and is even recommended by gardening experts.

Cut back after the next harvest

If the raspberries were not cut back after the previous year's harvest, this will not damage the plants. So the old rods can simply remain on the bush:

  • next summer after harvest
  • in raspberries from autumn after winter
  • then cut everything that no longer supports
  • from the previous year and from the current year

Tip: If you skip pruning one year, then prune the next year as normal, as it should be. In this way, the raspberry bushes can regenerate and grow normally again in the following year.

frequently asked Questions

It's already November, can I still cut the raspberries?

Since there can already be considerable night frosts in November, cutting summer varieties is no longer recommended at this time. In such a case, the raspberries survive the winter better uncut. Because the frost can penetrate through the interfaces and damage the plants in the worst case. However, an uncut raspberry bush can handle frost and snow quite well.

New shoots are already appearing on the old rods, can I still cut them?

If you forgot to prune until spring, then the new shoots will show up. With the summer raspberries, you can definitely remove the old, worn-out canes, because they are already dry and no longer useful. In the case of autumn raspberries, the fruits appear on one-year-old shoots. Here, too, it is possible to remove the old rods as far as they have dried out.

I didn't cut my raspberries last year, now they look very desolate?

That is normal. If the bushes have not been cut for a year, the new canes will grow over the old ones and everything will look like it has grown together and become confused. Of course, the cut after the next harvest is a lot more difficult for you because you have to separate the old and new canes of the summer raspberries. It is easier with the autumn varieties, where all the rods are cut to the base.

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Garden plants