UW-Extension fruit specialist and UW-Madison horticulture professor Amaya Atucha can tell you anything you need to know about preparing your raspberries for winter and caring for them year-round.
She says those with fall-bearing fruit can wait until after the harvest to prune all of the canes to the surface of the soil without leaving stumps.
Those with summer bearing fruit can overwinter their raspberries — keep all of the new canes that grew this summer.
Atucha says to wait until the spring to add a compost to the raspberry patch. If you want to check the level of nutrients in the soil, you can take a sample and your local UW-Extension office can help you send it in for testing.
Atucha adds it’s rare that the plant will not grow fruit for lack of nutrients. She says if fruit will not grow, it’s usually due to a different issue.
