Summer fruiting raspberries - fruit on new canes

[AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads]

This is our second year of growing raspberries. This year's fruit grew on last year's canes and some new mega canes have sprung up. However, some of the new canes have flowers on them (due to weird summer weather perhaps?) Does this mean they won't fruit next year?

[shovetheholly]

As you probably know, there are two kinds of raspberries. Summer-fruiting ones are floricanes, and flower on the second year's growth. Autumn-fruiting ones are primocanes and flower on the same year's growth.

If you are sure yours are floricanes, then it's possible they are confused - like so many of our other plants this year! Mumsnetters are reporting all kinds of things in flower that shouldn't be, from primroses to lilacs. Summer types should have stopped fruiting by now, so it's possible this is what has happened!

I have no idea how you are supposed to manage this, though! I think I would be tempted to leave them and wait to see if they flower again next year. Will watch with interest to see if anyone else has better advice.

[AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads]

Thanks

They're not all the way down the canes, so hopefully they've realised it's not actually time to grow flowers yet! Bloody crappy summer.

[bowsaw]

when did the main crop come?

I only ever plant primocanes, dead simple, cut to the ground after leaf fall, ideally in spring but possible in autumn. with the added benefit of fruits when the ones in the shops have stopped being cheap

[shovetheholly]

It has been crap, hasn't it? So bleeding COLD here! We've had very few days that have got over 18 degrees. My tomatoes have been a disaster.

I love raspberries, so I have both summer and autumn types. It means I can have them every week from about June to about now. Nom, nom, nom. This morning I put them in porridge, which turns it bright pink. Hooray!

[AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads]

We were eating raspberries in July. Not that we got to be outside often!

We've pretty much decided to give up on growing vegetables, mainly because of slugs and caterpillars. Barrier methods only do so much so we're going to wait a few years until the toddler gets a bit older. So our main crops this year have been strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb, because they pretty much take care of themselves.

How do autumn raspberries feel about shadier areas? Most of the garden gets the sun most of the day but has an area that only really gets the sun in a morning. If I were to have both types (which sounds a good idea) I'd need to keep them separate enough to make sure I'm not cutting down the wrong ones!

[shovetheholly]

Raspberries of all kinds tend to like a bit of shade. They're naturally woodland edge plants. I do mine in two rows to tell them apart, but they do look a bit different anyway (the autumn ones are a bit more thorny and thuggish looking).

I take my hat off to anyone who can find time to do veg with kids- it is a lot of work. Your plan to focus on fruit for a few years sounds sensible! You could think about perennial crops too, as these tend to look after themselves a bit more than the annuals - things like asparagus (in a sunnier, well-drained bed), Jerusalem artichokes, salad burnet (beautiful thing, easily attractive enough to put in a border yet also edible), wild rocket, ramsons (wild garlic, where you eat the leaves), welsh onions (bit like chives). All of those are actually decent to eat (unlike some of the things you see recommended as perennial crops) and will come back year on year.

[shovetheholly]

Oh, and in terms of pests: generally, if something can eat your veg, it will try! I'm finding that I keep a great deal of stuff under nets on a pretty permanent basis.

[AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads]

Well, to update, it's nearly the middle of November and I actually have some red raspberries in my garden. So I'm guessing that we may not get many/any raspberries next year. On the bright side, hopefully that will mean they can use all their energy producing loads of stems so we can have a bumper crop in 2017!

[shovetheholly]

Wow! That's fantastic! I know others have commented on getting a late harvest this year.

Thank you so much for updating. I'd love to know whether you get another crop next summer or whether they do go a bit more dormant. My guess is that you might get a split season with a bit now and a bit later, but that's pure hunch and no knowledge.

[TheSpottedZebra]

I echo Shove to say that this season is BONKERS. I'm still picking strawbs: a couple a day. And we've had a frost. V v odd.

[AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads]

We did have some flowers on the strawberries too but they've amounted to nothing. Glad it's not just be experiencing unusual growing habits though I don't think we've had really obvious seasons this year. Spring had a hot period, summer was generally wet and cold and it's only really starting to get cold now after quite a nice autumn.

I'll try and remember to update next summer!

[InMySpareTime]

I've got a summer fruiting raspberry that crops from June to November/December (especially with these mild winters). We had some quite bitter fruits off it last Christmas Day! Late cropping doesn't seem to affect it the next season, so there's hope for you OP.
I tend to cut down any canes once they've fruited, whatever type of raspberry, so I don't mind if they end up overlapping.

[AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads]

Hi I thought I'd update this

At the end of last year, we had a few raspberries on a few of our new canes from the year, but only right at the top, just the first few little shoots/buds. On those canes now, the very top where the raspberries were is empty but there are plenty of shoots on the rest of the canes. So the crazy weather last autumn has only affected them a small bit.

On the flip side, our rhubarb came up early before it got cold and it's massive now, we've already had a crumble out of it.

So good news all round and I've also learnt something about raspberries, and won't panic in future if a few try to sneak out early!

[shovetheholly]

Thank you so much for updating - I've been curious about this ever since you posted. I'm really glad it looks like you'll get a good crop this year!

Rhubarb this time of year is wonderful - it's like fruity champagne!!