In article , James Fidell
writes
No, not a new sort of ice-cream.

Earlier this year, in an effort to regain some control over the
very seriously overgrown veggie patch in our new house, we trimmed
all of the raspberry canes down to about a foot high.

Various people threw up their hands in horror, saying that if they were
a summer fruiting variety, we wouldn't get any raspberries this year.
Now it's summer however, we *do* have fruit. I recall too how at our
previous house we were delivered a number of bare-root raspberry canes
trimmed to a similar height late one winter and planted them out, getting
fruit in the summer of that year.

Why's that then? Is this summer fruit on old wood/autumn fruit on new
wood thing all a bit of a generalisation?

I would expect that your fruit is on off shoots from the foot high
canes, not on canes that have newly sprung from the base.

The flowering/fruiting pattern of many of the rosaceae (which includes
raspberries) is
Year 1: - throw out long new canes/branches to get as high as possible
Year 2: - (as well as throwing out yet more long new canes) producing
flowering side branches from last year's canes
Year 3: - throw out new canes, produce flowering side branches from last
years canes, continue flowering from the side branches of the first
year's canes - but since the plant has grown in vigour since then, these
won't e quite as fruitful as the ones from the second year ...

.... and therefore the pruning regime is - cut out completely (down to
the ground) the canes that fruited last year, to concentrate all the
energy on the more vigorous canes from last year which are branching and
fruiting this year, and allow to grow the new canes which will bear next
year's crop.

Of course, of you tell me that this year's new canes are fruting (as
opposed from branches from the foot long stumps) then I have to re-think
my whole understanding!
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"