CORVALLIS, Ore. — Established raspberries (including ‘Meeker’ and ‘Willamette’) and blackberries (including marionberry, boysenberry and loganberry) benefit from late-winter to early-spring care to stay healthy and productive.
Caneberries should be fertilized in early spring when new growth begins, said Amanda Davis, berry crops research assistant with the Oregon State University Extension Service.
- Apply ½ to 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 100 feet of row (for example, a 5–10 lb bag of 10-20-20 fertilizer or 1.25–2.5 lb of urea (42-0-0) per 100 feet).
- Apply an additional ½ pound to 1 pound of nitrogen per 100 feet of row again in mid-June.
- Manure may be used, but apply it in late fall or winter.
“It’s best to spread the fertilizer over the surface of the soil in the row,” Davis said. Caneberry foliage on new primocanes should be a healthy green; pale green or yellow leaves may indicate nitrogen deficiency. If plants lack vigor, modestly increase nitrogen.
Weed periodically and mulch with sawdust or bark (avoid cedar) to suppress weeds and moderate soil moisture and temperature.
Blackberry pruning
Erect types (e.g., ‘Navaho’) and semi-erect types (e.g., ‘Chester’, ‘Triple Crown’):
- During the prior growing season, new primocanes should be tipped to about 3 feet (erect) or 5 feet (semi-erect) to encourage lateral branches.
- In late winter or early spring, prune lateral branches on these canes to 18–24 inches long.
Trailing types (e.g., marionberry, boysenberry, loganberry):
- Do not summer-prune primocanes. Primocanes emerge in spring, overwinter, then become floricanes and fruit the following year.
- After harvest (late August): remove spent floricanes from the trellis.
- Trellis new primocanes in August — or in late winter after severe cold has passed.
Raspberry pruning
Raspberries include red summer-bearing, red and yellow primocane-fruiting (fall-bearing), and black types. Timing depends on growth habit.
Red summer-bearing
- Late summer (post-harvest): remove dead fruiting canes.
- January–early March (dormant season): remove weak, broken and diseased canes to crown or soil level.
- If planted in hills, retain 10–12 strong canes per hill.
- If planted in a hedgerow, narrow the row to about 12 inches wide.
- You may shorten canes to 5½–6 feet to simplify training and harvest.
Red and yellow primocane-fruiting (fall-bearing)
- Two-crop system: keep the row 12 inches wide during the season. In winter, remove only the tips that fruited last fall (they look grayer and dead). The lower parts of these canes will fruit in June/July; remove those canes after that harvest. New primocanes will produce the late-summer/fall crop.
- Late-summer-only system: in late February/early March, cut all canes to ground level while plants are dormant. Keep the row 12 inches wide as new primocanes emerge.
Black raspberries
- Summer: tip new primocanes just past 3 feet to encourage branching.
- Winter: remove damaged and small canes; remove dead fruiting canes from last summer. Shorten branches to 12–24 inches.
With timely fertilization, weed control, mulching and pruning tailored to type, caneberries reward gardeners with vigorous plants and larger, higher-quality harvests each year.
Previously titled Late winter to early spring care will help caneberries thrive
