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Autumn Bliss raspberries
Tryingtogrowthings
Posts: 17
in Fruit & veg
I planted about 5 autumn bliss canes last year. The label said if they had leaves on, plant them in a clump, which I did.
Last year I got about 10 perfect raspberries and the canes carried on trying to fruit right in to November.
This year I have loads of berries already but they have little wormy maggots in them.
First off - I thought they would give me late summer fruit? And secondly, how can I keep them safe from. The wormy pest.
Many thanks for any wisdom out there!
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Posts
Autumn fruiting rasperries like Autumn Bliss should be cut back to the ground in February. If you don't cut the canes down the old canes will produce a crop at this time of the year but the normal late summer crop will be much reduced or will be absent. The maggots will be those of the raspberry beetle which lays its eggs in about May and when they are fully fed they drop into the soil and pupate ready to start the cycle again.
To get rid of the beetles you need to break this cycle. Although it means losing this years crop (which, if they are maggoty I shouldn't think you will miss too much!) I would cut off all fruit and flowers now and throw them in the dustbin. This will also get the plants back on their normal cropping cycle as long as you remember to cut all of the canes back to the ground next February.
Thanks BobTheGardener. Are the beetles little round black fellows?
I didn't have pruning advice on the label - should've looked it up.
Ok will cut them all off - certainly won't miss the manly fruits.
Are there any particular conditions which encourage the beetles or is it bad luck?
It's bad luck really - there may even have been pupae in the soil around the roots that they came with. There are images of the beetle on this page:
http://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/raspberry-beetle
If you want to try a different autumn fruiting variety, I and several others on the forum highly recommend Polka which have huge crops and are very reliable.
Thanks. I put them in the wrong place really so I might bin the whole lot and start again, in a different part of the garden.
What is the taste/ texture of Polka like?
Polka have large tasty fruit which are quite firm and last a long time on the canes. It was bred from Autumn Bliss, so has a similar taste. There are a lot fewer spines on the canes too, a definite plus when it comes to picking time.