North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["victoria l. caron" <vicaron@gis.net>]

Ginda! You never said they were Fall Red! I can find out more about them from 
the extension
education office. Those produce much more than occasional light fall crops of 
other red
raspberries.
My canes are very vigorous and I find it easier to thin them in the spring 
when leaves are
gone, although Hector's idea of doing it all at once sounds great. I prune 
out about twice
what I keep.
As far as why I top my canes off? That's what is recommended by the Fruit 
Specialist at UNH
who does our local workshops.
vic NH zone 3

Ginda Fisher wrote:

> Why do you cut them short?  I'm afraid it will reduce the fall crop,
> which has been my main crop with these "everbearing fall red"
> raspberries.  the patch is on top of a hill with good air drainage, and
> last year I got raspberries trickling in through Thanksgiving.  (We'd
> had a couple of frosts - I was astonished.)  If it won't reduce the fall
> crop, I'll cut them back for easier management.
>
> It's easy enough to see which primocanes are stronger (some are as think
> as my fingers, and many are skinny little things) but it's at least as
> easy to wait until spring.  Which would be better for the plants?  Which
> would yield a better crop?
>
> Thanks,
> Ginda
>
> eastern Mass, zone 6
>
> "victoria l. caron" wrote:
> >
> > Ginda,
> > Primocanes are pruned out in the spring when it's easier to see which 
> > ones are
> > stronger. After they have finished bearing and the floricanes are out of 
> > the
> > way, I top them off between four to five feet [eye level for me : )]. 
> > Some red
> > raspberries, even in the wild, will produce on the terminals of the 
> > primocanes
> > in the fall, but because the season is so short here, I prune them back 
> > anyway.
> > You should have a long enough season in your part of Massachusetts, as I 
> > did in
> > Nashua, NH years ago, to leave some for late fall picking if they will do 
> > this.
> > It's more of a bonus than a crop though.
> > vic NH zone 3.
> >
> > Ginda Fisher wrote:
> >
> > > What time of year do you thin the primocanes?  My red raspberries have
> > > taken off this year, and where I used to have a sloppy row of stems
> > > about 5 ft high, I now have an impenetrable hedge about 8 ft high.  It's
> > > nearly time to prune out the floricanes, and I'm wondering if I should
> > > thin the primocanes while I'm at it.
> > >
> > > Ginda
> > > eastern Mass, zone 6
> > >
> > > "victoria l. caron" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Several years ago I rooted two cuttings of red raspberry from a local
> > > > wild strain that acquaintances had dug up in a clear cut. The berries
> > > > are large (penny to nickel size) and mostly round though it is not
> > > > unusual for some at the top of the cane to be longer and somewhat
> > > > pointed. Flavor is more tart than some of the named cultivars making
> > > > them great for jelly and pies.
> > > > The spring after the cuttings were rooted I dug up all the new shoots
> > > > (35) and planted them 15" apart in the row. I keep them pruned to 5-7
> > > > primocanes per foot and try to keep the spent canes cut out.
> > > > I am trying to figure out why some stretches of row are productive,
> > > > while others are barren. I think I have taken all the obvious into
> > > > consideration.
> > > > My theories include:
> > > > -I know the soil was too rich at first and this could still be true in
> > > > some spots which could be one reason for the lack of productivity. In
> > > > the wild, raspberries and blackberries seem to do best in well drained
> > > > soils with awesome size where there is an accumulation of bark mulch 
> > > > on
> > > > the fringes of logging yards.
> > > > -Then there is always virus which shows up in wild varieties, but can 
> > > > a
> > > > virus cause a total lack of production?
> > > > -I have cane borer and either that or a virus just turns the whole 
> > > > cane
> > > > dead in no time. This can be seen throughout the row. I haven't 
> > > > worried
> > > > too much about it since I have to prune out so much new growth to keep
> > > > within the guidelines for red raspberries anyway.
> > > > -Another clue maybe is that the more productive areas in fruit are 
> > > > also
> > > > the ones that are sending out many more new canes to the side than 
> > > > other
> > > > parts of the row.
> > > > Does anyone want to toss this problem around? I'm just trying to 
> > > > decide
> > > > if I should dig up the plants I'm wasting my time on.
> > > > vic NH zone 3
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
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> > >
> > >
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> >
> >
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>
>
>
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