Pruning raspberries is an important part of fall maintenance.  Getting your berries pruned and in shape will help them grow better early next spring, so take a few minutes now to get things in order.

What to Prune
Raspberries are biennial, meaning they produce a shoot one year that will not have berries until the next year.  Each year your raspberry plant will be growing two different shoots – one to produce berries and one that is just getting started.  At the end of each growing season, you need to cut back the canes that produced the berries, which helps make room for the new growth to take over.How to Prune
Second year raspberry canes will have woody stalks, while first year canes will be green and supple.  With your pruning shears, cut back the woody stalks all the way to the ground.  No need to worry – this will not harm the plant at all.  Just use caution not to cut the green stalks or you will lower your berry production next year.

Once you have pruned your raspberries, you can lay down a good layer of mulch to nourish and protect them through the winter.  Use grass clippings, peat moss, compost, straw or dried leaves to make a solid layer over your plants.  In the spring, pull the mulch away from the canes so they do not have issues with rot as the mulch breaks down.

It only takes a few minutes to prune raspberries in the fall, and it makes managing your berry patch much easier in the growing season because you do not have to work around dead stalks that take up much-needed growing room.