Pruning Power Point

Rubus and Ribes for the Garden
Michele Stanton, Kenton County Extension
The Berry Pickers by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe
What we will discuss
• How our plants grow
• Training them-trellises
• A few items of annual care
• Pruning them
• A few pest and disease issues
• And we’ll go prune!
Rubus biology
• Perennial shrubs with
biennial shoots
• Plants start bearing
during 2nd summer
• Most fruitful in first 812 year
• Older plants may get
diseased, should be
replanted elsewhere
How to tell the plants apart
• Raspberry canes
have softer thorns;
stems are round.
Leaves are whitish
underneath in some.
Blackberries have sturdy
thorns and ridged
stems although some
newer cultivars are
thornless
Hardiness-a caution
• Raspberries are
hardier than
blackberries,
zones 3-7; no
restrictions here.
• Blackberries
need/tolerate
warmer temps
than raspberries,
zones 6-9. Some
restrictions here.
Raspberries in snow, Connecticut
Heat/UV tolerance
Above: White drupelet disorder
in climates where high temps
occur with high light intensity
(not usually a problem in OH or
NOTE: Blackberries and raspberries
northern berry-growing areas
are good candidates for gardens with
partial shade
Growth Habit:
Erect, semi-erect or trailing
• Erect habit: some
blackberries, black
raspberries, some
raspberries
• Semi-erect: some
blackberries
• Trailing: some
blackberries and most
raspberries– not for
our climate
Do you need a trellis?
• Erect types usually need
no trellis
• Semi-erect types:
trellis optional
• Trailing types: need
trellis
• Install trellis at planting
Typical raspberry trellis arrangement
Trellis systems vary
TRELLIS ADVANTAGES
• Support canes
• Protect canes from
mechanical damage and
soil-borne pests
• Keep fruit off ground
• Facilitate picking
• Admit more light into
canopy
The Rubus plant
How Rubus plants grow here
-Canes (stems) grow vegetatively their first year; also
known as Primocanes
-Primocanes form flower buds in autumn/winter
at end of first year
-2nd year canes, now called Floricanes, flower and bear
fruit during summer.
-Floricanes die after at the end of 2nd year
-Each year new primocanes emerge and continue the
cycle
Two different growth types
• Summer-fruiting: one crop per summer, in
July/August
• Fall-bearing, one crop in summer, an
additional crop in fall
• Fall-bearing is also called Ever-bearing or
Primocane fruiting (three names for the
same thing)
Primocane-fruiting Rubus spp.:
• Some newer cultivars are
Primocane-fruiting types, also
known as Fall-bearing or
ever-bearing
• PF types produce fruit their
first fall on the tips of the
primocanes. Afterwards the
tips die, but the rest of the
cane produces fruit during its
2nd (floricane) year
Annual Care
• Fertilizer
• Pruning
• Not bad, eh?
Do they need fertilizer?
• Organic growers can apply a fresh layer of
composted manures in late winter/early spring
before bud break
• Conventional fertilizer: 2/3 cup 34-0-0 per 10’ of
row at bud-break
• And 2/3 cup 34-0-0 6-8 weeks later
• Test soil every 3-5 years
Water
• Water during the growing season any time
we go 5-7 days without water.
• Crops can be 50% larger with irrigation than
without.
• Use drip/trickle or soaker hoses.
• No sprinklers/don’t get leaves wet.
PRUNING
• Promotes higher
yields and/or fruit
size and quality
• Reduces diseases
• Facilitates harvest
• Guidelines vary
Two kinds of pruning cuts
A-Thinning cuts
• Cut extra canes out at
ground level
Before and after
thinning of raspberry
B- Heading Cuts
Aka ‘Tipping’:
Shortening individual
canes or branches to
increase flowering
Also done to keep
plants within easier
reach for harvesting,
etc.
The actual cuts: A 45˚ angle
Which tools should you use?
• Bypass pruners for clean
cuts
• Avoid anvil pruners except
to remove dead wood
• Clean, sharp tools to
minimize infection
• Loppers for larger
diameter branches
The Basics: Winter pruning
1. Remove spent/dead
Floricanes in late winter or
early spring-they will not
fruit again.
2. Remove diseased, weak,
stray, winter-killed or
broken canes in March
before bud break.
3. Prune out any sign of
borer damage or disease.
4. Thin out the smallest canes
if the growth is too thick.
5. For tall berries, tip canes
back to 5-6’ in height for
ease in harvesting, or tip
to just above the trellis.
6. Remove laterals that touch
the ground--the lowest
12-18” depending on
cane length.
Late winter pruning of blackberries,
black and purple raspberries
Spring/summer pruning (some)
• Spring/summer tipping of
young growth can increase
growth of flowering laterals
and help strengthen floppy
canes in some cultivars
• For erect
blackberries, black
and purple
raspberries only:
Lightly tip canes to
the top of trellises
on new growth
• Do not tip red
raspberries!
Late summer
• Remove floricanes down to the ground after
harvest
--ONLY IF you have had disease and insect
problems
• Are they are healthy? Then prune late winter
An optional PF Management practice
• Want just a fall
crop?
• Mow down all canes
every year in late
winter; each fall you
will have a large
primocane crop.
• Advantages: harvest
in Sept-Oct when no
one else has fruit
• Easiest pruning
• Fewer disease and
insect problems
• No hardiness worries
Primocane (Fall-bearing)
grown for single fall crop
Primocane fruiting types
grown for dual cropping
Diseases and insect pests
• Most of our berry plantings are
pretty healthy
• If you find signs of diseases and
insects, cut out the infected cane
during pruning
• Orange rust (fungus)
• Phytophthora root rot
• Verticillium wilt (soil-borne
fungus)
• Anthracnose (fungus)
• Cane blights (fungus)
• Raspberry cane borer
• Red-necked cane borer
• Japanese beetles
• Tree crickets
• Spotted-wing Drosophila
New warning: SWD
Prevention is the best Rx
for Rubus diseases
• Buy certified disease-free
plants
• Rogue all wild Rubus in the
vicinity
• Keep beds free of weeds
• Maintain good drainage
• Avoid excessive N
• Keep plantings thinned
as necessary
• Maintain good air
drainage
• Prune out floricanes
after fruiting if you have
any history of disease
• Irrigate with drip rather
than sprinkle systems
More information
• Growing Blackberries and Raspberries in
Kentucky, HO-15
• Pruning Raspberries, Blackberries & etc.
Univ. Missouri #G6000
• Michele Stanton, Kenton County Extension:
859-356-3155, michele.Stanton@uky.edu
• Stick to books or resources from the Midwest because
guidelines for other areas of the country are written for
different cultivars and conditions than ours.
Any berry questions?
Fallgold, an everbearing yellow raspberry