| It all depends on which type of raspberries you grow: those that bear a spring and fall crop ("everbearing"), or those that bear a single heavy crop. The one-crop type fruit on year-old canes, and after they bear their fruit, they should pruned out in the fall. The young, green canes that sprouted in the spring will bear fruit next year, so leave them in place, except to prune out weak looking, diseased, crowded or damaged canes. If yours are everbearers, the simple pruning method is to top all the canes; this eliminates the early crop but gives you a larger fall crop (this is usually advisable only in areas that have a long, mild fall - make judgement based on your "microclimate" in Boise). Alternately, if you feel it's risky to count on good fall weather or just want raspberries earlier in the season, cut out the canes that produce fruit early on in the fall. The green, first-year canes will produce a fall crop at their tips. |
