How do I prune raspberries?

It depends on the type. Summer-bearing raspberries fruit on second-year canes: cut those canes to the ground after they fruit, and the rest in late winter. Fall-bearing (everbearing) raspberries fruit on new canes: the simplest approach is to cut every cane to the ground in late winter.

Based on Penn State Extension and Oregon State University Extension Service · Updated Oct 2026

What to do now

Mildest step first.

  1. Work out your type: fruit in early summer means summer-bearing; fruit from late summer until frost means fall-bearing.
  2. Cut out any gray, peeling canes that already fruited, right at ground level.
  3. In late winter, thin summer-bearers to the sturdiest canes about 6 inches apart, in a row 12–18 inches wide.
  4. For fall-bearers, cut all canes to an inch or two above the ground in late winter for one large fall crop.

Not sure this is it? Check other raspberry problems

Which type do you have?

Raspberry roots and crowns live for years, but each cane lives only two summers. In its first year a cane is called a primocane and grows leaves; in its second year it's a floricane, fruits, and then dies. Summer-bearing raspberries fruit only on floricanes, so the crop comes in early summer, around June or July in most areas. Fall-bearing raspberries, also sold as everbearing or primocane-fruiting, also fruit on the tops of first-year canes from late summer until frost. If you don't know which you have, watch when the berries come: a crop in late August or September on this year's tall green canes means fall-bearing.

Remove canes that fruited

Start by removing canes that have finished fruiting. Once a floricane has fruited it won't fruit again and dies over the following months; you can recognize it by its gray, peeling bark and the dried stalks where berries hung. Cut it at ground level, either right after harvest or during the dormant season. University of Maryland Extension advises cutting at the soil line so dead stubs don't harbor canker fungi.

Summer-bearing: thin in late winter

Summer-bearing raspberries get a second pruning in late winter or early spring, before growth starts; Penn State recommends March in Pennsylvania, when winter damage is plain to see. Keep the row narrow, about 12 to 18 inches wide, and cut out suckers that come up outside it. Within the row, keep the thickest, healthiest canes and remove thin, short or damaged ones, leaving them about 6 inches apart, or 4 to 6 canes per foot of row. Then cut back any dead tips to live wood. Penn State suggests topping very tall canes to about 4 to 5 feet, removing roughly a quarter of the cane; shorter canes are easier to manage and still produce larger berries, though topping trims total yield somewhat.

Fall-bearing: mow or prune the tips

For fall-bearing raspberries, the easiest system is to cut every cane to the ground, about 1 to 2 inches high, in late winter while the plants are dormant. New canes grow up in spring and fruit at their tops in late summer and fall. You get one crop a year, but it's a good one, and the pruning takes minutes. You can instead leave the canes over winter and cut off only the top section that already fruited, cutting a couple of buds below the dead part. The lower part will fruit again in early summer, but Oregon State notes this early crop is much smaller, and Utah State notes that double-cropping shrinks the fall crop. If you want berries in both seasons, Penn State suggests growing some summer-bearing plants as well.

Black and purple raspberries

Black and purple raspberries are pruned differently. They fruit only on second-year canes and grow from a crown rather than spreading by suckers. In summer, pinch or cut the tips of new canes when they reach about 3 feet so they branch; Oregon State reports that this tipping greatly increases yield. In late winter, remove canes that fruited, keep the strongest few on each plant, and shorten the side branches; Penn State suggests about 4 to 7 inches long for black raspberries and 6 to 10 inches for purple.

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