So.. if it's got raspberries on it at the moment, is it definitely autumn fruiting??

[kathyd]

Sorry to sound stupid, but I got my canes 2 years ago from someone selling them for charity via a forum, and thought they were summer fruiting apart from one pot which she wasn't sure about. I left them all in pots for their first year - nowhere ready to plant them - so they were badly neglected and only got planted out this spring. Stayed small for ages, didn't even need to tie them in over the summer they were so short, but they suddenly shot up a few weeks ago and started producing fruit. If the weather stayed fine they'd go on producing, cos there are quite a lot of flower buds still on them.

My problem is that I have no idea whether to treat them as summer or autumn fruiting canes! Could their delayed start in life have retarded their growth, or are they almost certainly autumn fruiters since they're growing happily at the end of October...

[veggiechicken]

The question is - does it matter to you what they are?
Mine are all jumbled up so I just cut out canes when they die off. I have some in fruit and in flower at the moment. I'd be picking them too if they hadn't got so wet in the last few days.
I'm sure someone who is knowledgable will be along soon

[Fleurisa]

When they fruit depends more on when they were pruned rather than what type they are. My allotment neighbour pruned all his stems down to the ground this spring so they didn't fruit until late summer to autumn, but his are supposed to be summer fruiting not autumn. They are probably fruiting later due to being planted late. When you plant summer fruiting raspberries you are usually advised to prune them to the ground at the time of planting, because you left stems on these fruited when they were ready. You should cut off any stems which have had fruit on them. If you have had new stems grow this year which haven't fruited then you possibly have a summer fruiting variety.

[BUFFS]

Sorry to sound stupid, but I got my canes 2 years ago from someone selling them for charity via a forum, and thought they were summer fruiting apart from one pot which she wasn't sure about. I left them all in pots for their first year - nowhere ready to plant them - so they were badly neglected and only got planted out this spring. Stayed small for ages, didn't even need to tie them in over the summer they were so short, but they suddenly shot up a few weeks ago and started producing fruit. If the weather stayed fine they'd go on producing, cos there are quite a lot of flower buds still on them.

My problem is that I have no idea whether to treat them as summer or autumn fruiting canes! Could their delayed start in life have retarded their growth, or are they almost certainly autumn fruiters since they're growing happily at the end of October...

autumn certainly seems to be favourite to me.....

[rustylady]

My problem is that I have no idea whether to treat them as summer or autumn fruiting canes!

So what are you worried about? Simply pick the fruit when it is ripe, and cut the fruited canes down to the ground when the harvest is finished. Leave any new green canes that may have been produced.

If there are no new green canes, then it's probably an Autumn fruiting variety and will produce new canes in Spring that will fruit that same year.

[kathyd]

Oh! Well that sounds simple enough, thanks . I thought there was some great mystique about pruning and if you didn't do it properly you wouldn't get any fruit from them or something. I'll have to go look for new canes when things dry up a bit then, and see if I can work out which they are - fingers crossed for autumn though, I love the idea of still picking them so late in the year .

[rustylady]

It's easy to tell the difference in the canes Kathy - fruited ones will be brown and will have the remains of flowers and fruit on sideshoots, and new ones should still be bright green.

Summer fruiting raspberries fruit on 2 year old canes (green canes grow year 1 and don't produce flowers, the next year they produce sideshoots that flower and fruit and the canes turn brown).

[TrialAndError]

So, the opinions above seem to be a consensus that really it doesn't matter what type the canes are?

Treat them all the same - so all the pruning rules as far as the differences are concerned just go out the window?

[veggiechicken]

I think the pruning rules are the same - whichever type of raspberry it is - namely, cut out the fruited canes. The difference is the time of year when you do it - so I do it whenever I spot a finished cane

[Kirk]

Pruning rules are the same = after the fruiting time prune them.
It is getting to be difficult to term them summer and autumn fruiting now. There are (and have been) some late fruiting summer raspberries (breeders wanted to extend the season) and there are more early fruiting autumn ones (easier management for commerical growers). Too much of an overlap now.

Going to have to be a case of harvest fruit and prune the cane(s) afterwards.

[alldigging]

I think the pruning rules are the same - whichever type of raspberry it is - namely, cut out the fruited canes. The difference is the time of year when you do it - so I do it whenever I spot a finished cane

So if they've not fruited at all this year (Due to be hacked down in Spring) then leave them as they are for over winter?

[veggiechicken]

Yes ^^^. that's my version anyway! If it hasn't fruited yet, let it live, if its fruited, cut it down when it goes brown.

[kathyd]

Thank you everyone . I actually quite like the idea of pruning when it suits the plant, rather than having to remember at a certain time of year - something less for my memory to have to worry about!