Freak hybrids and funky cultivars offer us gardeners all sorts of options for our unique climates. Consider fall-fruiting, or everbearing, raspberry varieties. Most other raspberry types produce one crop in midsummer, but fall-fruiting types grow two a year!

Everbearers mainly consist of red and yellow raspberry plants. They include varieties like ‘Fallgold’ and ‘Heritage.’ They may produce a single harvest in the fall, or a small harvest in midsummer and another in the fall. How you prune and manage your plants will influence how they perform.

Don’t worry about fancy pruning techniques and extravagant care guidelines. We’ll cover exactly what you need to know about fall raspberry care. Grab some pruners, put on your gloves, and get ready to take care of your fall-fruiting raspberry plants.

Nova Red Raspberry Plant

Introducing the Nova Red Raspberry, a robust plant that promises not only a bountiful harvest but also a striking addition to your garden. Thriving in zones 3 through 8, this raspberry variety is known for its resilience and ability to withstand harsh conditions, including cold climates and rough winters.

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Choose a Pruning Method

Pruning technique impacts later growth.

The method you choose will dictate how many harvests you get. Prune fall-fruiting varieties similarly to normal types for two harvests. Or, use selective pruning during fall raspberry care to encourage a giant fruiting period during the late growing season. 

One Giant Fall Harvest

You can harvest continuously or all at once.

Many growers choose to forego their summer harvest for a giant one during the fall. Raspberries are out of season by the fall, and growing bushels of the fruit when they’re rare is a special treat. Encouraging a single fruiting period is also easier than promoting two, as it requires less pruning.

Raspberries grow two types of stems, or canes: primocanes and floricanes. Primocanes emerge in spring, while floricanes are one-year-old stems that overwinter and bear fruit. Fall-fruiting varieties produce fruit on primocanes and floricanes. 

To encourage a single fruiting period, prune all of the stems to the ground after they flower and fruit in the fall. Primocanes will emerge next spring, and they’ll grow raspberries for the next fall season. 

Two Harvests a Year

This method is more difficult but spreads the fruits into two harvests.

Encouraging two fruiting periods a year is more difficult, as you’ll need to discern the primocanes from the floricanes. You won’t cut all the stems to the ground. Instead, you’ll harvest from both the primocanes and floricanes, and leave the primocanes to overwinter. 

Let’s start in the spring. New primocanes emerge alongside last year’s stems, which are now floricanes. Harvest raspberries from the floricanes in the early growing season. After harvesting, prune these old stems to the ground and leave the new primocanes. 

The primocanes that emerged in spring will flower and grow raspberries in the fall. Pick these raspberries, then leave the new stems alone. Don’t prune them! They’ll overwinter, and then they’ll become next year’s floricanes.

Manage Fall-Fruiting Raspberries

Clean up debris after pruning to prevent disease.

Aside from pruning for fruit, there are some other steps you can take in fall raspberry care for efficient raspberry production. Keep the growing site neat and tidy, and clean up the area in the fall for successful overwintering. Without regular pruning and care, raspberry patches turn thick and unproductive over time. 

Prune the Suckers

Suckers draw energy away from fruit production.

Suckers sprout out of the row or bed your raspberry plants are in. They’ll elongate into long canes if you leave them to mature. This is desirable when they sprout where you want them to, but it’s undesirable when they grow in the walkway.

With gloves on, use your pruners to snip the suckers to the ground. Gloves during fall raspberry care will protect your hands from thorny raspberry cultivars. Do this sucker removal in late fall or early winter before the dormant season arrives.

Some raspberries, like black and purple varieties, are vining types. Their canes are more like vines. They grow tall and long, and they root at their tips when they touch the ground. Arrange the vines on a trellis, and remove any tip sprouts if they grow in the walkway. 

Tie Up Canes

Support canes to stop them from flopping over.

Supporting your raspberry is a necessary step for proper fruit production. You may use a post if you have one plant. Simply tie up the long canes to the post with plant tape or string. 

Row or bed plantings require more support. Many systems work well, and commercial growers rotate between a few common styles. 

One way is with two T-posts and wire. Tie the wire to the two T-posts to create a rectangle, and put the plants inside the rectangle. The canes will lean on the wire, and the T-posts will keep the wires from falling over. 

Other systems involve trellises, arbors, and homemade supports. Use whatever you have on hand to keep the plants off the ground. 

Remove Weak Growth

Trim underperforming growth to encourage new, healthy growth.

Some canes will be thin and weak, and they’ll grow little to no fruit next year. Instead of leaving them during fall raspberry care, thin them out to divert energy towards the main stems. This will promote big, juicy berries the next year. 

Remove weak growth in the fall or winter before the first frost. If canes are close together, thin them so one remains every five to six inches. 

This may seem harsh, but it’s an important task. Raspberry plants tend to grow too thick for their own good. Their old stems will crowd the space. Pruning dead, damaged, and weak growth now will lead to a healthy raspberry crop next season. 

Shorten Tall Canes

Manage size to make harvesting easier.

Vining raspberries, such as purple and black varieties, grow incredibly tall. Some will extend over ten feet long. This is excellent in the wild, but it’s hard to manage in the home garden.

Don’t let the tall canes overwinter. Instead, prune them to five feet tall in late fall or early winter. This will help the stems stand tall through harsh winter weather. It’ll also allow for easy picking by keeping the raspberries within arm’s reach. 

Five feet is a good height to stop pruning at. Prune any shorter than five feet and you’ll cut down a significant portion of next year’s raspberries. 

Mulch the Beds

A layer of mulch retains moisture and regulates soil temperature.

Mulch is a key component of a healthy garden. It feeds the soil with nutrients, it inoculates it with fungi and bacteria, and it protects the ground from harsh weather. Mulch prevents water from evaporating in the summer, and it acts as a blanket that warms the earth in the winter. 

Add a two to three-inch thick layer of mulch in the fall for a successful overwintering period. Use compost, leaf mold, or straw. Other options include fallen leaves, coco coir, and plant trimmings. Use whatever you have on hand, or make compost at home for a continuous supply of mulch.