Raspberries - a plant that is not afraid of cold, but the flowering buds, under the influence of very low temperatures, can freeze out, therefore it is necessary to cover raspberries for the winter. Consider how to prepare raspberries for winter, to keep the plant for good fruiting.
- When to start training?
- Fertilizer features
- Pruning shoots and removing leaves
- Soil mulching
- Bending down
- Features of the preparation of raspberries for winter
- Ordinary varieties
- Remontant
- Shelter use
- Raspberry care in winter
When to start training?
Preparing for winter is a rather lengthy and laborious process that can be carried out without any problems, if you follow the rules and recommendations. It is necessary to prepare raspberries for wintering starting from summer, and not from autumn, as many think.
Fertilizer features
At the end of August, it is necessary to begin strengthening the top dressings in order to achieve the maturation of the woody part of the plant. In this situation, it is necessary to use phosphate and potash fertilizers, stop making nitrogen fertilizers. These feedings will be the preparation for the root system for the winter.It is necessary to make 60 g of fertilizer for each bush. Mineral fertilizers must be alternated with the introduction of organic fertilizers according to the scheme: the first year is organic, the second year is mineral fertilizers.
When preparing raspberries for winter in autumn It is recommended to apply such organic fertilizers as:
- Manure - before digging up the soil, you need to make about 6 kg of top dressing per 1 square meter. m. If the manure that is planned to be applied is not pereprelya, then in the period of digging in conjunction with the earth, it will become insulation for the root system. By spring, such manure perepret and will be an excellent fertilizer for the plant.
- Fertilizer bird droppings. Such top dressing is considered one of the best for fertilizing plants. In the autumn, you need to evenly distribute the chicken or other litter raspberries.
- Compost fertilizer is an alternative to manure. This dressing is obtained as a result of overblowing of bird droppings, foliage of trees or weeds, corn stalks and peat.
- Fertilize with peat recommended in autumn and spring. It does not have the same nutrient content as manure or compost, but it does improve the structure of the soil.
- Fertilizer green manure. Siderats are plants that are sown between the bushes of berries. These plants are digging along with the ground and become an excellent fertilizer for raspberries.
Before the start of frost, around the end of September - beginning of October, you need to make the last feeding.
Pruning shoots and removing leaves
Pruning berries - an important element of preparation for the winter, so you need to approach this matter responsibly. First you need to cut dry and young, but thin shoots, leaving only the thick and strong. Depending on the height, they need to be cut to 15-20 cm. It is necessary to track the distance between the bushes - it should be at least 60 cm. If the bush has grown very large, then remove the extra shoots.
After these manipulations, you need to remove the remaining foliage on the plant. It is important to carry out the procedure very carefully so that the buds of the plant are not damaged.
Soil mulching
It is very important that the soil surrounding the plant is covered all the time, because the berry does not tolerate drying of the topsoil. For this, it is recommended to carry out soil mulching.Well suited material such as straw, peat, ripe leaves. You can not cover the raspberries with sawdust coniferous trees and branches with needles, because the plant does not like to be in an acidic environment.
It is necessary to pay special attention to autumn mulching, because such manipulation can protect the root system of raspberries from the sudden onset of frosts, when the ground has not yet been covered with a layer of snow. Mulching should be carried out at 7-10 cm. It is important not to overdo it with a layer of mulch, because it can cause decay, bloating, or provoke fungal diseases of the plant.
It is important to irrigate the soil before mulching so that the root system gets enough moisture leaving for the winter.
Bending down
In order for raspberries to survive the winter well, it is necessary to bend the weaving plants and fix them near the ground. 
Features of the preparation of raspberries for winter
Ways to prepare raspberries for the winter depend on the characteristics of different plant varieties. Consider the features of ordinary and remontant varieties.
Ordinary varieties
When preparing ordinary varieties, it is important to bear in mind that when cutting the upper part of the shoots of a plant, the formation of new young shoots in the spring will be stimulated. Such a procedure is fully justified, because raspberry fruits only once a season, and all the remaining time is preparing for the next year of young shoots.
Breaking the leaves of a plant is considered an important element. But it should be borne in mind that you can not break off, holding his hand up from the bottom along the shoots, because such a manipulation will damage the buds growing in the leaf axils.
Remontant
When preparing remontant varieties, you need to remember that annual shoots give a good harvest but in the autumn, after a full harvest, all shoots that are older than one year should be pruned. Young shoots must be left in the spring, because they form the first wave of fruiting raspberries. And by the fall, the shoots that have developed this year will give another wave of fruiting, that is, under normal weather conditions, it is possible to harvest two times.
If the cultivation of this plant occurs in the middle latitudes, which are characterized by a short summer, it is recommended to carry out the complete removal of all the shoots in the autumn period, leaving no young. Such manipulation is necessary, because in a short summer raspberries will not have time to give two crops at once, and it is known that the first harvest is weaker. This procedure will allow the raspberry to miss the first wave of fruiting, thus will contribute to the early formation of young and strong shoots, flowering will begin earlier and fruiting will be abundant.
Pruning raspberry pruning in preparation for the winter should be carried out in November, so that the leaves are completely frozen out. 
Shelter use
If winter is expected to be frosty, and it is impossible to predict the loss of a thick layer of snow, then you need to take care of additional protection from frost - to build a shelter.For these purposes, you must choose a nonwoven material, such as lutrasil or spandbond. They are well breathable and allow raspberries to breathe, which will prevent vypryvaniya.
In order to cover the plant, its you must first bend and tie. Next, you need to cover the shoots in several layers with this material and fasten it on the sides: prikat or press bricks.
You can also build a structure of polycarbonate sheets. Sheets need to be laid on the ragged raspberry branches as arc-shaped shelter.
It is important in the spring to release the raspberry shoots from the shelter in time and tie them up, aligning them from the autumn bending down. Until mid-April, you need to carry out this procedure. 
Raspberry care in winter
If severe frosts are expected in winter and the snow cover is lower than the associated raspberry shoots, then it is necessary to cover the snow so that it completely falls asleep the plants. This manipulation will save shoots from hares, who are looking for food. If a crust of ice forms on the top of a snow cover, then it is necessary to loosen it so that the raspberries have a free flow of air.
