Pruning Raspberry
When and how — Rubus idaeus
Prune your raspberry in February, March and August — the optimal month is usually March.
The next pruning window is August.
When to prune?
The fruit raspberry is pruned in February, March and August.
Pruning fruit is about balancing growth and yield.
Fruit trees and bush fruits live in an eternal balance between leaf production (vigour) and fruit (yield). Prune too little and you get a dense plant with masses of small, disease-prone fruit. Prune too much and the plant reacts with watershoots and almost no fruit. The right line: once a year in winter dormancy (January–February) shape an open crown so light and air can reach every branch. With apple and pear, learn the difference between fruit spurs (short, 2–3-year-old wood — that's where the flowers come from) and wood buds (long whippy growth). Bush fruits need a different approach: redcurrant and gooseberry are pruned to an open goblet shape; blackcurrant needs renewal pruning where you remove one-third of the oldest stems at ground level each year.
How to prune raspberry
How you prune raspberries depends entirely on whether you're growing summer-fruiting or autumn-fruiting varieties, so identify your type before you start. Summer-fruiting raspberries produce fruit on canes that grew the previous year. Prune these in August immediately after harvest: cut all the canes that have just fruited right down to ground level, as they won't fruit again. Tie in the new green canes that have grown during the summer—these will carry next year's crop. Thin them to about six strong canes per plant, removing any weak, damaged, or overcrowded stems. In late February or early March, tip back the remaining canes to about 15 cm above the top wire to encourage side shoots and keep growth manageable. Autumn-fruiting raspberries bear fruit on the current season's growth, which makes pruning much simpler. In February or March, cut every single cane down to ground level. New canes will emerge in spring, grow through summer, and fruit from late summer into autumn. There's no need to tie in or select canes during the growing season, though you can provide light support if growth is very vigorous. Use clean, sharp secateurs or loppers for all cuts. Remove any suckers that appear away from the row throughout the year to prevent the patch spreading uncontrollably. Always clear away and bin or burn pruned canes—don't compost them—to reduce the risk of carrying over pests such as raspberry cane midge or diseases like cane blight and spur blight.
Common mistakes
✗ Finally pruning after five years of neglect
A drastic prune after years of nothing triggers an explosion of watershoots and almost no fruit the next year. Better to gradually restore over 2–3 years than do everything in one winter.
✗ Pruning blackcurrant the way you prune redcurrant
Blackcurrant fruits on one-year-old wood, redcurrant on short, multi-year spurs. Prune a blackcurrant for shape (like redcurrant) and you'll harvest nothing.
✗ Pruning during frost
Wounds don't heal in frost and the wood can split. Wait for a frost-free day, even in winter dormancy.
Combine with feeding
In March you can combine pruning with feeding — efficient, and you only disturb the plant once. Read the full care guide for raspberry →
Hold off on pruning
Better to wait than prune at the wrong moment. The next optimal window is August. Until then: leave the plant alone — only remove dead or diseased wood (which you can do year-round).
