unpruned raspberries

[Victoria26]

I have a few raspberry canes which are growing in a corner of my garden. No idea what variety or if they are Summer/Autumn as they were hiding and are not labelled.

Thing is they are about 5ft high and havent been pruned back at all. Will they bear fruit this year or will i be best just to cut them to ground level now?

Any ideas appreciated.

[rustylady]

Leave them alone for this year and see when they fruit.

[zazen999]

Have they got old fruit on them at the top - if so, cut THAT CANE down. If they haven't - leave them.

[FB.]

As above: if in doubt, leave them and see what happens.
You'll get your answer by the end of the year and can prune accordingly next winter (and you'll definitely get some fruit if you leave them alone, which you might not get if they are summer fruiters and you cut them down, since summer fruiters fruit on last year's shoots).

[sugar]

Have they got old fruit on them at the top - if so, cut THAT CANE down. If they haven't - leave them.

I agree, easiest way is to cut back all canes that have olf fruit on them

[GardenFaery]

I have some raspberry canes at the very back of my garden. They are several years old now, always give fruit in late Summer ,but although I planted them, I'm very neglectful/forgetful of them, at times, entwined and hidden as they are behind trees at the back (my excuse anyway lol) To get more fruit I think people advise to cut any that have fruited down and BBC Gardening echoes what most people have already said in thread here:

As with all summer fruiting raspberries, the canes that have fruited should be cut back to ground level as soon as all the fruit has been picked.

BBC - Gardening: Plant Finder - Summer fruiting raspberry

Today I looked at mine and the older ones just came out easily enough/pruned off older woody canes and the new ones seem healthy enough, with new sprouting leaves etc.

Might be an idea to mulch with manure or similar around base of canes as they benefit from this.
But otherwise let nature take her course - after all she does a good enough job later on with wild blackberries

[starloc]

I leave half of mine ( usualy...but this year i left them all )

When you dont chop them back they grow flowers about this time of year , my autumn fruiting ones ( last years canes that have already fruited) are just starting to flower now on mini side shoots all over them , new canes are also shooting up to flower in the autumn

[jackie j]

Autumn raspberries are prickly at the base mainly, and summer are smooth, cut the prickly leave the smooth.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I think that statement needs to go in the old wives tales Jackie