Some really basic raspberry advice..

[cptncrackoff]

Hi,
Ive ordered some 'long cane' Tulameen raspberries.
The advice on the website is to plant them, do not prune, allow to fruit next year, prune back any that have fruited ideally leaving 6-9 canes that did not fruit.

Alot of advice I have read for primocane varieties say plant and prune straight away, then prune every year, i'm a little confused and as you may notice have no idea what i'm talking about! help

[yummersetter]

Tulameen isn't a primocane variety, so the canes you will get are the ones that will bear raspberries next summer.

[cptncrackoff]

ok, thanks.
The website says that some canes will fruit this coming summer, is this perhaps because they are 'long'?

[yummersetter]

With your variety, new canes should grow in 2013 alongside the ones you are planting that will fruit in 2014. The canes from this year will fruit next summer and then you'll cut them out. If they supplied you with plants that didn't have long canes you'd have to wait till 2014 for any fruit.

[FB.]

As above: Tulameen is a summer-fruiter which fruits on two-year-old shoots.
The shoots which grew this year will fruit next summer.
Next year's shoots will fruit in 2014.

Primocanes fruit on the ends of the youngest growth; fruit being produced in autumn (hence the term "autumn" raspberries as opposed to summer raspberries such as Tulameen).
Autumn-fruiters are then cut completely to the ground each winter.
If an autumn-fruiter is not pruned, it will produce a partial crop on the old shoot the next summer (as per summer fruiters) and a partial crop in the autumn on the new growth.

There's no "free lunch" though; autumn fruiters crop a bit less than summer fruiters, and for every fruit that an autumn fruiter's old cane produces in summer, there will be a proportionate reduction in the amount produced in autumn.

Generally speaking, when I plant new raspberry canes I don't prune them; I find raspberries prefer not to be messed about when trasnplanting, but once established they are fairly tough.
I prefer to grow autumn-fruiters (less need to protect from pests and less need for supports; offset by noticably lower yields than summer raspberries) and all the canes therefore get cut down at the end of the following year.

Or in really simple terms:

Don't prune newly-planted raspberries.

Prune out canes which have just fruited once their leaves have fallen.

Any canes which didn't fruit will fruit the following year.

Many people with summer fruiters have a left/right approach, where the older (2yr old), fruiting canes are tied to wires on one side, while the young canes (which will fruit next year) are tied to the other side.

[cptncrackoff]

Thanks, i think i get it now!
Basically you end up with half your canes fruiting, and the other half waiting to fruit next year!?

[sugar]

I don't prune bare-rooted raspberry canes after planting. But I cut back the old canes to the ground as soon as the new shoots are 40-50 cm high.
This means I don't allow the plants to fruit on the old canes, and force the plant to put al its energy into the new shoots. I've been doing some comparisons and plants seem to settle better under those conditions.

I don't apply pruning to raspberry sold in containers.

[FB.]

Thanks, i think i get it now!
Basically you end up with half your canes fruiting, and the other half waiting to fruit next year!?

Yes, except that the summer fruiters crop much more heavily than the autumn fruiters, so having half the canes not producing doesn't mean a lower yield.
Of course, birds and other pests do like a bit of fresh fruit in early summer, after a long winter of pecking at rotten windfall apples - so you should be prepared to protect summer raspberries.
Autumn-fruiting raspberries are often somewhat less affected by pests as there's more types of ripe fruit for the pests to choose from.

[cptncrackoff]

Brilliant, thanks. Ill look into some netting!

Planting wise, 60cms apart, 8cms deep!?

[cptncrackoff]

My rasps have arrived!!

Theyre nicely wrapped, i'm not going to get to plant them tonigh, perhaps tomorrow after work, whats the best way to keep them? theyre bare root, quite moist, will they be alright wrapped up??

[FB.]

My rasps have arrived!!

Theyre nicely wrapped, i'm not going to get to plant them tonigh, perhaps tomorrow after work, whats the best way to keep them? theyre bare root, quite moist, will they be alright wrapped up??

They'll be OK for a couple of days.
I wouldn't put them in a bucket of water for more than an hour or two at any point as it may literally drown them, or encourage fungal diseases to invade and kill the roots (raspberries don't like being flooded). If they start to look a but dry just give them a light sprinkling of water.

If it'll be a while before you can plant them properly, just dig a hole and lay them in it, then gently push the loose soil back on top - called "heeling-in". They'll be fine like that for many weeks - just don't leave it too long after about February before putting them in their final position as they may start to sprout and these soft new shoots and roots may be damaged when dug up again.

[cptncrackoff]

Thanks for that, I can plant them tomorrow, finish work at half 3, should have time to rush down the lottie and plant them.
Thanks again for your help!