Pruning Brambles

Authors: Evan Lentz
Evan.Lentz@uconn.edu

Reviewer: Shuresh Ghimire and Mary Concklin, UConn Extension
Publication EXT178 | December 2025

DOI Pending

Introduction

Brambles are a diverse group of small, aggregate fruit-producing plants, which include red, yellow, blush, purple, and black raspberries, as well as blackberries. The variety in color, flavor, and time of harvest make them highly appealing for both producers and consumers. 

However, these benefits are often accompanied by confusion over some of the differences in cultural management, specifically pruning. This fact sheet explores some of the key differences between various brambles, and how to properly prune each type.

Key Differences to Note

Primocanes versus Floricanes

Brambles have two distinct types of canes: primocanes and floricanes (Figure 1). The difference between primocanes and floricanes is their age or maturity. Primocanes are one-year-old canes and floricanes are two-year-old canes. Other than age, primocanes and floricanes will behave differently, depending on whether they belong to the summer-bearing or fall-bearing group of brambles.

A black ad white illustration representing the typical growth habit of a bramble. Labels point to the upright floricanes and primocanes, the horizontal lateral branches, the crown, crown buds, and roots.
Figure 1 – Typical growth habit of a bramble, showing their propensity to spread via rhizomes and the difference between the one-year-old primocanes and two-year-old floricanes (Image: OSU Extension)

Fall-Bearing versus Summer-Bearing Brambles

One of the main differences between this group of plants is when the fruit is ready to be harvested. There are both summer-bearing and fall-bearing brambles. Summer-bearing brambles are perhaps what most people think of when they think of a raspberry or blackberry with the fruit ripening in the summertime. 

These brambles are also known as floricane-bearing brambles as their fruit is produced on their two-year-old floricanes. The canes in this group are biennial, taking two years to produce fruit. This group includes red, purple, and black raspberries as well as blackberries. 

Alternatively, Fall-bearing, Everbearing, or Primocane-bearing brambles produce fruit on their one-year-old primocanes. Fall-bearing brambles provide annual fruit production. This group includes red, black, and yellow raspberries as well as some blackberries. Fall-bearing brambles can also be double-cropped. Double cropping will be discussed below. 

 

Growth Habit

The growth habits of this group of plants vary in multiple ways, including how and where new canes develop on the plant. 

Red and yellow raspberries all spread via rhizomes underground. From these rhizomes, new root/shoot junctures develop allowing canes to develop away from the original crown of the plant. New canes will develop from both the crown of the plant and from the spreading rhizomes. This is how many brambles colonize or spread within a planting area. 

However, black raspberries and blackberries do not spread via rhizomes. Instead, they have a compact crown, like that of a blueberry bush. All the new canes on black raspberries and blackberries will only develop from the originally planted crown. 

Lastly, purple raspberries can exhibit both types of growth: having canes arise from the crown and from rhizomes. 

There are pros and cons to each type of growth habit. For the purposes of pruning, it is only important to know which group you are working with at the time.

In addition to how and where canes develop on the plant, there are a few more differences in the growth habit of blackberries specifically. There are erect, semi-erect, and trailing blackberries. Erect blackberries can stand on their own and do not need a trellising system, like a blueberry bush. Semi-erect and trailing blackberries require the support of a trellis.

Cold Hardiness

The cold hardiness of bramble canes varies a fair amount as well. Red raspberries are the most cold-hardy and can withstand temperatures down to -30 degrees F. All the other brambles are only cold-hardy down to about -10 degrees F.

Cold-hardiness affects the survivability of canes through to the next season, and therefore impact the pruning regimen. Additionally, even in cases of higher winter temperatures, cold winter winds can desiccate overwintering canes, resulting in the partial or complete death of a cane.

How to Prune Brambles

Pruning Summer Bearing Red Raspberries

A black and white illustrated figure showing the pruning stages of different seasons for summer-bearing red raspberries.
Figure 2 – Pruning of summer-bearing red raspberries. This figure demonstrates the biennial nature of the raspberry canes. The figure follows one set of canes from development as primocanes in their first year to their shift to mature, fruit-bearing floricanes, and finally to their removal at the end of the second season. NOTE – This figure does not show the primocanes that would have developed in the second spring. Please be aware that both primocanes and floricanes will be present and need to be maintained on plants at all times to ensure annual fruit production. (Image: Purdue Extension)

In the first year, plants will only have primocanes. These will not flower nor produce a crop. Primocanes will need to be maintained through the winter. 

In year two, those primocanes become floricanes and will provide your first crop in the summer. Also in year two, floricanes may need to be tipped to encourage lateral branching. However, red varieties generally do not need to be tipped as they will branch on their own. Fruiting will occur on laterals. 

After the floricanes have produced a crop, the floricanes will not produce another crop, and will need to be removed. All pruning should be done between end-of-season and early spring of the next year. See Figure 2 and the step-by-step guide below.

First Summer 

  • Allow primocanes to grow. Do not tip. 

Second Spring 

  1. Thin out weak canes. 
  2. If needed, shorten canes to 4.5-5.5 ft. to encourage laterals to break. This height will vary, based on the height of your trellising system.  Cuts should be made just above the top wire. Only tip the reds that are growing in very fertile soils and/or that grow excessively. 
  3. Leave the new primocanes to develop. Do not tip primocanes.

After Harvest

  1. Remove all spent fruiting canes (floricanes). Canes should be cut all the way to the ground, leaving no stumps. Leave the new primocanes. 
  2. Remove all weak, broken, diseased canes. Canes should be cut all the way down to the ground. 
  3. Reduce the row width to about one foot. Remember–these brambles spread via rhizomes, which means they can colonize inside and outside of your planting row. 
  4. Thin canes within the planting row to about four to five canes per linear foot of planting row (Figure 3). The planting may look sparse at this point. This is okay. 

 

A black and white illustrated figure showing the crowded before and neat after pruning stages of a plant.
Figure 3 – Before and after annual dormant pruning of brambles that spread via rhizomes. These brambles will form a hedgerow which will need to be managed. Canes that emerge outside of the hedgerow need to be removed. Canes need to be thinned within the planting area to about 4-5 canes per liner foot. (Image: Penn State Extension)

Pruning Summer Bearing Purple Raspberries, Black Raspberries and Blackberries 

A black ad white illustration of a figure representing the Pruning of summer-bearing black and purple raspberries and blackberries. This figure demonstrates the biennial nature of the canes. The figure follows one set of canes from development as primocanes in their first year to their shift to mature, fruit-bearing floricanes, and finally to their removal at the end of the second season.
Figure 4 – Pruning of summer-bearing black and purple raspberries and blackberries. This figure demonstrates the biennial nature of the canes. The figure follows one set of canes from development as primocanes in their first year to their shift to mature, fruit-bearing floricanes, and finally to their removal at the end of the second season. NOTE – This figure does not show the primocanes that would have developed in the second spring. Please be aware that both primocanes and floricanes will be present and need to be maintained on plants at all times to ensure annual fruit production. (Image: Purdue Extension)

Most of what applies to summer-bearing red raspberries also applies to summer-bearing black and purple raspberries as well as blackberries. The only difference will be additional tipping of the primocanes in their first year. See Figure 4 and step-by-step guide below. 

Early First Summer

  1. Tip primocanes to encourage laterals to break. (Figure 5A) (Black raspberries can be tipped when plants reach about 30” by removing one to two inches from the top of canes. Purple raspberries and blackberries can be tipped when they reach 36-40”. Alternatively, you can tip them once they reach the top wire of your trellis). Tipping may occur over multiple weeks as canes development varies.

Second Spring

  1. Shorten the floricane laterals that developed last year to about 12-15”. (Figure 5C)

After Harvest – Dormant Pruning

  1. Remove all spent fruiting canes (floricanes). Canes should be cut all the way to the crown, leaving no stumps. Leave the new primocanes.
  2. remove all weak, broken, diseased canes. Canes should be cut all the way down to the crown.
  3. Thin canes to about four to five canes per plant/crown. Remember–black raspberries and blackberries have a compact crown and do not spread viz rhizomes.

An illustrated black and white figure showing the three stages of tipping summer bearing black raspberries and blackberries.
Figure 5 – Tipping summer bearing black raspberries and blackberries. Plants will need to be tipped twice: once in the first year to encourage laterals to form and once again in the second year to short the laterals themselves. (Image: Penn State Extension)

Pruning Fall Bearing Raspberries

Fall-bearing brambles have the benefit of producing fruit on their primocanes, which provides an operation with annual fruit production. Therefore, maintaining and organizing both primocanes and floricanes each year is not required. 

Each year, primocanes will produce a crop in the fall. These primocanes can then all be removed to make way for the next year’s primocanes to develop and fruit. However, fall-bearing brambles can also be double-cropped by tipping and maintaining floricanes into year two. The second crop provided by fall-bearing floricanes will be much smaller, and develop in the early summer of their second year. See the figure and step-by-step guide below.

A black and white illustration showing the pruning and double-cropping of fall-bearing raspberries. The figure follows one set of canes from development as primocanes, to the production of their first crop in the fall and then, to their second year as floricanes with their second early summer crop. NOTE – This figure shows the full process of double cropping.
Figure 6 – Pruning and double-cropping of fall-bearing raspberries. The figure follows one set of canes from development as primocanes, to the production of their first crop in the fall and then, to their second year as floricanes with their second early summer crop. NOTE – This figure shows the full process of double cropping. If single cropping, floricanes will be removed after the first fall crop. This figure does not show the primocanes that would have developed in the second spring. Please be aware that both primocanes and floricanes will be present and need to be maintained on plants at all times to ensure proper double-cropping. (Image: Purdue Extension)

Single Cropping

First Summer
  • Allow new primocanes to grow. Do not tip.
After Harvest
  • Remove all spent fruiting canes (primocanes) down to the ground. >Since there is no need to maintain two types of canes, a brush hog or mower can be used to quickly and efficiently remove spent fruiting canes.

 

Double Cropping

First Summer
  • Allow primocanes to grow. Do not tip.
After First Harvest (Fall)
  • Leave spent fruiting canes (primocanes).
Second Spring
  • Remove the tips of the spent fruiting canes (floricanes) from last year. Tip them just below where the fall crop developed. 

The second crop will develop below this cut. This will help to reduce overwintering inoculum, and reduce the likelihood of infections on new berries, in the second crop. 

After Second Harvest (Early Summer)
  • Remove spent second-year fruiting canes (floricanes). Canes should be cut to the ground. Retain the primocanes that will provide their first main crop this fall.

Resources

Demchak, K. (2024, February 28). Pruning brambles in home fruit plantings. Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/pruning-brambles-in-home-fruit-plantings   

Warmund, M. (2022, March). Pruning raspberries, blackberries and gooseberries (Publication No. G6000). University of Missouri Extension. https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6000  

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