Pruning brambles is an important part of the growing process. If the canes are not pruned every year, they will eventually stop developing leaves and then die back. You will be left with a large growth of dead, prickly canes. Brambles are woody biennials. This means that every second year, the canes bear fruit. The roots are perennial however and will live for an very long time. To keep brambles in their best health, you must cut some canes each year.
The Life Cycle Of Brambles
Each year, the canes grow from the roots. The second year, these canes produce fruit and then die. There are new canes that are growing all the time, so you are going to be cutting the 2 year old canes at the end of their life so that they do not decay and harbor disease. In the wild, raspberries are sort of a natural place holder for the trees that will grow. When the trees grow enough to shade the berries, they die back and that is the end of their cycle.What Is The Best Way To Plant Brambles?
If you are planting berry plants for the first time in your garden, set the plants 2 to 3 feet apart. Berries will fill in quickly and they will not seem so far apart. You are however, trying to keep enough room so that at the berries highest growth, there will still be room to walk between the thorny canes.After planting, cut back the plants to about 2 inches above the ground. This gives the roots time to become established before sending energy into creating canes. Your raspberries will take up to 2 weeks to see a good regrowth. The plants will sit for a week before starting to grow again, due to being transplanted, and this is a good time to establish a watering schedule. Raspberry bushes like moist soil and if your location doesn't provide that, it is important that you set up a watering system to keep the ground watered. Other than pruning and watering, brambles are overall pretty hardy.
