Planting and pruning Raspberries?

I just got some Raspberry plants and they are hardening off in the garage as it is still freezing here at night. Anyway how much does cold bother them? They are Heritage cultivars and supposedly 2 crops if you prune the right way. I haven't got a clue about how to prune them so please help.

im going to guess you have some pieces of rootstock? i got mine back in early february (usda zone 8a here) and just stuck it in the ground.it was still getting pretty cold at night and i was sure i had killed it but it started growing as soon as it warmed up and i cut the old cane away as soon as new ones started to form.

It depends on if your season is long enough to produce two crops.

"Everbearing red raspberries such as "Heritage" raspberry can be pruned to produce fruit once a year or twice a year. If you follow the pruning methods used for summer red raspberries, "Heritage" raspberry will produce fruit once in spring and once in fall. However, many home gardeners and commercial growers mow or cut all "Heritage" canes to the ground in early spring (March or April) for the sake of simplicity. "Heritage" raspberry pruned this way will produce only one crop starting in early August"

This is the pruning method for the summer red raspberries:

"Summer red raspberries should be pruned twice a year, first in the spring and immediately after harvest (Figure 2). The spring pruning, in late March or early April, consists of removing all weak canes and cutting back tall canes (over 5 feet) to 4.5 to 5 feet. The second pruning consists of the removal of canes that produced fruits, right after harvest."

I'm in zone 5b and don't have a long enough growing season to produce two crops. Plus having the plants just produce one crop makes the crop more productive and the pruning method is easier. So I'll mow all the canes down in early spring and just cultivate for one crop in late summer.

I just got 3 bare root Heritage raspberries this week from Henry Fields this week. They are in the fridge until the soil dries out a bit.

Here's their description of the Heritage cultivar:

"Holds in good condition on plant and after picking. Sweet, mild flavor. Very strong, vigorous, self-supporting canes. Suckers prolifically and spreads rapidly. Fairly tolerant to heavy soils, though susceptible to root rot in poorly drained soils. First crop in early July; second, heavier crop from September to frost. Heavy Fall yields when mowed to ground level in early Spring while still dormant. If heavy soil, add peat moss, dehydrated cow manure or compost. Hold plant in hole, spread roots, plant crown 1" below soil, fill 1/2 way; compact soil; complete filling; compact soil; water well. Susceptible to Verticillium Wilt. Do not plant where tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, or peppers have been grown in the past 3 - 4 years. Plant as far away from these vegetables, if growing them also. Can train to trellis. Berries are ready to pick when they separate easily from the stems. Birds will eat berries."

I like that heritage has self-supporting canes. I've also ordered Jung Seeds "Raspberry Sampler #2" that includes 3 plants each of Polana and Anne, plus 5 plants of Latham but they haven't arrived yet.

How are you going to amend your soil bombaycat? Have you thought about spacing?

Don't know anything about any particular cultivars, but generally speaking raspberries, blackberries are extremely hardy. You can run them over with a lawnmower and they'll keep on growing. The roots will send out runners and they'll be popping up everywhere.

homesteaders and preppers consistently say that fruiting plants are an excellent investment...

those plants are very hardy...i have a hard time killing them...

much of how to prune is determined by whether the fruit (or blooms) are on the first year's or the second year's plant growth...

Raspberries fruit on year-old canes, and only for one season. Easiest way to deal with this is to plant them in a straight row, then build a trellis with 2 T-shaped posts on the ends- the top of the "T" should be about 18"-24" off the ground, and about 18" long. You then tie your trellis wires to the ends of the top of the "T", making something like a small double clothesline. After this season, move the canes that grew this year to the OUTSIDE of the 2 wires. Next year, the new canes will grow straight up the middle, while your fruiting canes are on the outside and easier to pick. After the season, cut the outside canes off, then move the new crop to the outside, ready for next year.

I've gone with thornless raspberries, much easier to deal with!

As far as cold, they're pretty tough, they just don't like cold damp air sitting on them while they're growing, I have mine planted on a hillside so the cold air drains away as much as possible.