There's nothing quite like the taste of a ripe, red raspberry, but cultivating a berry patch can be thorny and a little confusing. If you want berries in the fall, now's the time to prune them.
"You have various types. You have reds, purples and blacks; and with reds, you have summer bearing and fall bearing varieties. So, fall bearings are fairly easy. If you want just one crop, prune them back to the ground in the next few days. If you have a summer bearing red raspberry, remove the small, spindly canes. Then prune off any dead wood near the top," explains Richard Jauron, a horticulturist with Iowa State University Extension.
This hour on Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Jauron, forester Mark Vitosh, and Iowa State University Extension horticulturist Patrick O'Malley about berry bushes. They also answer listener questions.
