[Maddox]

Hi all

I planned on cutting back to ground level all my old raspberries canes today, am I ok to do this, or too early??

Most have finished fruiting.

Many thanks in advanace.

Maddox

[HappyHippy]

Hi,
I think it depends on what variety they are.
Some fruit on new wood (so you could cut them back now) but I'm sure there are some that fruit on 1 year old growth so if you cut them back you might end up with nothing next year.
Here's some info from victorian nursery - hope it helps

Pruning
The pruning of raspberries causes concern to many but is actually not that complicated! Raspberries can be divided down into two groups - Floricane varieties which are more commonly known as Summer fruiting varieties, and Primocane varieties more commonly known as Autumn fruiting varieties and sometimes known as Everbearers.

To prune Floricane varieties cut down all of the canes that have fruited to 6” from the ground after the canes have finished fruiting. Any weak looking new shoots should also be cut down. Tie in the remaining shoots to the support wires as they grow throughout the rest of the year. In early March prune off any ‘die back’ that has occurred over the Winter and if there is excessive growth higher than your wire supports prune back to approximately the top wire.

Primocane varieties fruit on the current season’s growth and much research has been undertaken as to the best method of culture of these. From our own trials we have discovered that if you treat Primocanes in the same way as normal summer fruiting raspberries your plants will come into fruit approximately 2 weeks earlier – however your berry size will be reduced as will your overall yield. Accordingly we would recommend that you prune down all growth to ground level each February.

[sellickbhoy]

thats one of my jobs for this weekend - cutting back the rasps

I have several varieties - some are summer fruiting and some are traditional autumn fruiting

this is to be my plan

Prune canes that held fruit in summer during the autumn, cutting them right back to the ground. Tie in about eight of the strongest new canes from each plant to fruit next year, and remove the rest. (oops, bit late on this one, but i bet they'll be fine!)

In mid-winter, cut back lanky top growth so canes are about 15cm (6in) above the top wire.

Prune autumn fruiting varieties in mid-winter, cutting the old canes back to ground level. Tie in new stems to the supporting wires as they grow, using garden twine.