Pruning Soft Fruits

Blackberries, Loganberry, Tayberry, and Boysenberry

Cane fruits can grow on a wall or with posts and support wires.
The pruning aim is to keep fruiting canes and new canes separate.
Prune in autumn after fruiting, and again in late winter/early spring.
Once fruit has finished being harvested, all the fruited canes can be cut to the ground in the fall and the new canes can be tied into position. As canes develop, weak ones can be removed. In late winter all canes can be cut back by 6 inches.

Raspberries

Primocanes make their fruit on the tips of stems that grew up from the ground in the same year (in the fall).
Floricanes make their fruit on wood from the previous year's growth (in summer).
There are two different types of fruiting raspberries:
Summer fruiting

Prune in autumn after the fruiting has finished. Cut fruited canes to the ground and tie in new growth. Only retain the strongest young canes.
Fruit is produced on floricanes.

These raspberries produce fruit on primocanes and floricanes.
If you decide to sacrifice the early summer crop (floricanes), you simply prune all of the canes to the ground at the end of winter. New canes (primocanes) will grow every summer, fruit in fall, then get pruned out in late winter.
If you want to harvest raspberries from both the fall and early summer crop, you have to distinguish between the first-year canes (primocanes) and the second-year canes (floricanes) and prune them differently. First-year primocanes are green and fruit in the fall. The next summer, these canes are starting their second year and are termed floracanes.
When winter comes, you must prune these floracanes to the ground, taking care to distinguish them from the green primocanes. You’ll want to thin out the new primocanes at the same time, only leaving the tallest, most vigorous canes.

Blackcurrants

The majority of the crop is produced on shoots that grew the previous summer. Some fruit is also produced on two year old wood, but it is worth pruning this wood out to make room for new shoots
Pruning should be done in late winter as buds begin to burst. On well-established plants some pruning can also be done in summer by cutting out an entire branch with ripe fruit. This makes the picking easier and allows the new shoots to benefit from increased light and air circulation.
The goal of pruning black currants is to reduce as much three-year-old wood as possible to make room for younger wood with better fruiting potential. This will also help to maintain the bush’s upright habit and shape.

Red- and Whitecurrants

The crop is produced at the base of one year old laterals. The laterals can be pruned hard in the winter to form spurs which will then produce fruit annually.
Aim for 8-10 main branches, with an open center.
Prune in later sinter as late as possible before bud burst.

Gooseberries

Remove older branches entirely. This encourages a heavy crop of smaller fruit, which is ideal for preserving.

Best for trained forms ie., cordons, fans, and standards
In late winter, shorten all new growth on a permanent framework of branches. This gives a smaller crop of larger fruit.

Blueberries

A very simple soft fruit to prune, blueberries should be pruned when young to encourage the formation of well-shaped, open and upright shrub.
Established plants should have the oldest and weakest wood pruned to the base of the plant to encourage new and more productive growth. Branches can be fruitful for several years to maintaining an open shape is important. Do not cut out more than a quarter annually.

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