what do i do with raspberry plants in the winter?

Question

my grandmother has raspberry plants in het back yard and we dont know what to do with them in the winter. we live in wisconsin and are growing zone in 5. someone told her you lay them down and cover them with dirt. we dont want to take a chance and mess them up.

Answer 1

Pruning

Pruning is one of the most important parts of raspberry culture and it is very often neglected or improperly done. Proper pruning of raspberries makes fruit picking easier and the individual fruits will be larger.

In the hedge row system, spring pruning should consist of thinning the canes to 6 inches apart or 8 to 10 canes per 2 feet of row. Keep in mind the row should be only 18 inches wide. The remaining canes should be tipped or headed back to 3 to 3� feet tall, since shortened canes are less likely to break under a load of fruit. This spring pruning should be done in the early spring before any growth takes place.

In the hill system, the spring pruning consists of selecting 6 to 10 canes and removing all others. The selected canes should be tipped to 3� to 4 feet in height. At this time the canes should be tied to the stake in the hill system.

In midsummer, after the raspberries have finished fruiting, all canes that bore fruit should be removed. These old canes will die the following winter since the canes of raspberries live only two years. The first year each cane grows as a shoot starting from the root. The second year each cane fruits and dies. These canes that fruited compete with the young canes for moisture and nutrients. They also harbor insects and diseases. Destroy or bury all the refuse removed in pruning.
Winter Protection

Raspberries grown in exposed or difficult sites and the more tender varieties should be given some winter protection. This can be done successfully by bending the canes over and throwing a shovel of soil on the cane to hold it down on the ground. The bent over canes should then trap snow, which gives good protection. This usually results in less winter killing and better fruiting the following summer.
Insects and Diseases

Red spider mites are the most common insect pests of raspberries in North Dakota. The mites are tiny sucking insects found under the leaves. The damage appears as small light colored spots on the leaves. There may also be a cupping of the leaves. The most serious diseases of raspberries in North Dakota are virus diseases referred to as mosaics. Virus disease symptoms may show as cupping of the leaves, yellow-green mottling, loss of production and loss of quality in the fruit. This may be partially avoided by starting with new plants from a reliable, regularly inspected nursery. Raspberry plants from a neighbor's old "patch" often are infected.

Answer 2

Raspberry Bush Care

Answer 3

Party who posted suggestions to cut out old woody growth but leave this year's new growth is right. It might be better to do this pruning in very early spring. Fruit will bear on the new growth.

My sister is an expert gardener with years of experience. She grows raspberries in the country with fruit so thick on the canes they appear bright red.

One spring I pruned her raspberries in late March. "Take the old canes and all of the weak new canes," she told me. I worked for hours, removed about half the canes, thought I was done. Sis emerged from the house, seized the shears and ruthlessly cut out another half again of what was left, leaving only the very strongest and healtlhiest new canes. She said that's the reason her raspberriy fruits are so prolific.

Raspberries don't need any winter covering or treatment in North America. They're hardy without mulch. They grow wild throughout northeastern USA, almost a weed.

Hint: next spring & early summer gather & dry the raspberry leaves for tea. Has medicinal benefits. The berries themselves can be macerated in vodka for months, then turned into a wonderful cordial to drink over ice cubes or a syrup to pour over ice cream or yogourt. And yes, all those beneficial anti-oxidant proanthocyanidins from berries will be present in these plant preparations.

Answer 4

Cut the dead canes. These will be the brown canes that bore fruit during the season. New canes will emerge in the spring. You may also prune the whole plant down to almost ground level if you feel that the bushes are too thick and not bearing enough fruit. Other than removing the dead canes, you can just let them go. They will reappear in the spring. Raspberries are very hardy and when all else dies, raspberries tend to hold their own. You could also mulch around the base of the plants for extra protection. The main thing is to remove the dead canes.

Answer 5

Raspberries can stand colder climates than most other fruits.They prefer the soil to be slightly acid, so do not lime. In the fall dig in manure and compost. But take care not to damage the roots. They need potash fertilizer.
In the fall, after the leaves have died off, cut off all the canes which have fruited close to the ground.But keep the shoots that grew that year; they will fruit next. Tie these new shoots to a fence-like support about 5 ft high. Suckers can be used for new plants. Just sever them from the mother plant with a spade and replant.

Answer 6

Well Jessica I am your next door neighbor I live in Iowa. I would trim them down to about 12 inches high and leave them alone, but I would wait until after at least the first frost or two, they will do fine through the winter. I have never heard of laying them down and covering with dirt, that would be a terrible lot of work. I tell you this, my next door neighbor has a Raspberry patch right between our houses that's all she does and I plan to put in a patch next year (I can't keep Robbing her patch Ha Ha) Hey Good Luck and nice talking to you.

Answer 7

Probably not well. Too little light intensity and hours. Obviously not enough energy to flower or fruit either. Remember daylight hours (or actually dark hours) initiate flowering so unless you know what is needed by raspberries, even if you have a healthy plant, the day/night ratio may be wrong.

Answer 8

Raspberries are hardy in zones 3 - 8; if she bought the plants in her area, there's a extremely good chance that they are hardy for that area. I've never seen anybody cover them; in the Rockies they grow wild up to about 11,000 feet, and they do just fine on their own.

Answer 9

We've got everbearing berries here. They bear two crops, one in june and another in the fall. We chop them low (both new and old, like 6 inches or so) and mulch them lightly with oak leaves. If you have pine needles you can rake up and put on the ground that's even better. It's hard to get rid of raspberries (they're a weed) so if you do something and "mess them up" you'll be able to save the patch anyways.

Answer 10

We live in Toronto Ontario Canada.....I don't know what zone....and we don't do anything with the raspberry plants. They seem to survive the winter very nicely.

If you're concerned.....go to your local garden centre and ask them.