Preparation of raspberries for winter: briefly about the main

Shrub shoots rarely freeze out, and usually flower buds, located in the most productive places, are damaged. The middle part becomes vulnerable, as it is over the snow, and the tops simply do not have time to mature properly. How to prepare raspberries for winter correctly? The tops of the bush can freeze even in small frosts. This vulnerability is associated with poor aging (especially for varieties of repair). The problem is solved by removing part of the escape. Actually, the preparation of raspberries for winter consists in cutting off excess parts and applying fertilizers. Sheltering is recommended only in particularly cold areas.

Circumcision of raspberries in the middle lane is usually carried out in September. Part of the gardeners cut off only a third of the shoot, bending the remaining two-thirds to the ground. Such preparation of raspberries for winter is explained by the fact that there will not be any secondary growth in the bush, and before the winter nutrients will accumulate, hence winter hardiness will increase. The main thing - to bend the shoots correctly and on time. In the early pressing to the ground there is no sense, and at a later time there is a risk of fractures at the base. If the shoots have already become brittle, then they should be bent down gradually, in three steps. To tilt a raspberry below 40 sm it is not necessary - even at good flexibility they will break. In addition, in the snowy winter, the stems laid too low will propel. It is most convenient to tie the shoots to a pre-tensioned wire. In the formation of the precipitate, it is desirable to loosen the snow a little (to remove the ice cake). Otherwise, it is possible to damage the kidneys below the upper snow layer. When trellised growing branches are tied directly to the trellis.

For many gardeners, the preparation of raspberries for winter is a complete trimming of shoots. These measures are also being taken in the autumn, in September, and in the colder regions - since the end of August. How to cut raspberries for the winter?

To begin with, all shoots are examined for infection by anthracnose, defeat by gall midges, etc. The weakened (damaged) branches are completely removed. Strong and healthy shoots are cut as low as possible, so that hemps are not more than 10 cm, otherwise further cuttings will be difficult, and new processes may bend. Early cutting will by no means harm the bush. On the contrary, such preparation of raspberries for the winter allows to gain strength for the further development of "zelenok" in the spring. In addition, raspberries will be much better illuminated, and therefore less affected by disease. The number of shoots will depend on the shoot-forming characteristics of the variety (on average they leave from 8 to 15 hemp per meter). If the rows are not yet formed, do it in the fall, just at the time when the raspberries are prepared for winter. First, raspberries are easier to tolerate such interference, and secondly, in the spring it will be more difficult because of abundant watering. The optimal width of the series is 40 cm.

Now about fertilizing. The most demanding is raspberry to the presence of potassium with nitrogen, slightly less - to the presence of phosphorus. The first couple of years you can feed the shrubbery only with nitrogen. In the future, 3 kg of organic matter will be required. It is better to distribute the application of fertilizers as follows: manure - in spring, phosphate-potash - in autumn.

If the winters in your area are not snowy and also frosty, then the soil around the shoots is gently loosened, and then mulched (sawdust, straw).