Hello, I was given a cutting of this raspberry bush and planted it in October last year and it should be fruiting during our next summer. I water it once a day. I’m not sure what to do whether I just keep watering it until it gets bigger and fuller then prune, feed it nutrients etc. Please help :)

Hi Anna-Lisa, your raspberry plant looks very healthy and is growing well. The plant will need a support frame once the canes grow, it is better to put this in place now rather than trying to collect up fallen canes and tie them back later, there will be less disturbance to the roots as well. Put up a frame that you can drape bird netting over as the fruit ripens. At the moment the plant is very bushy, when the canes get taller, 1.5m - 2m high, select 6-10 of the strongest ones as your fruiting canes, cut the others right back, so the plants energies go into producing fruit and not more foliage. At this stage, leave your plant to grow upwards, ease off the watering as temperatures start to cool, you may only need to water 2-3 times a week in autumn, depending where you are and how hot it is during the day. Raspberries are deciduous, the canes will start losing their leaves and going dormant for winter soon, feed your plant in early autumn with Tui Strawberry food (suitable for all berries) or Tui Novatec slow release fertiliser. Raspberry varieties can be summer fruiting only, and summer and autumn fruiting. Depending upon which variety you have, you may get another crop in autumn, the summer fruiting canes will go brown after fruiting, the autumn fruiting canes will be green, remove the brown canes once fruiting has finished, leave the green canes for your next crop. You may also want to remove some of the suckers, there is one close to the border edge, which can be moved and replanted to increase your raspberry bed. Check out our raspberry growing guide https://tuigarden.co.nz/how-to-guide/raspberry-growing-guide/ Lianne