11 Cane Berries You Should Prune in November

Blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, boysenberries, and other hybrid cane berries are a delightful addition to any garden. However, these thorny and sometimes unruly canes jumble together naturally, making harvesting them a headache in summer. 

Pruning many species of cane berries in fall gives them an entire dormant season to regrow vigorously. It also opens up airflow and reduces pests. Most of all, it gives you more room to harvest the delicious fruit without pain and frustration. 

Thornless Blackberry ‘‘Prime-Ark® Freedom’’

	botanical name Rubus fruticosus ‘Prime Ark® Freedom’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-9’
	hardiness zones 5-9

The Prime-Ark® Freedom cultivar is by far the most newbie-friendly cane berry cultivar. It produces luscious berries on new primocanes in summer. And most of all, it’s thornless, so you won’t have to worry about cutting your hands while pruning. 

Unlike most other cane berries, this cultivar produces fruit on its new growth in summer. After year two, the second year’s growth will fruit as well, giving you two harvests in one season!

To prune it in November during your first year, simply cut your new growth to three to four feet. After the plant’s second year, you can prune the old floricanes away and leave some primocanes to produce fruit the following year. You’ll end up with two harvests of deep red to jet-black berries in early and late summer. 

Raspberry ‘‘Heritage’’

	botanical name Rubus idaeus ‘heritage’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4-6’
	hardiness zones 4-8

The Heritage Raspberry is easy to grow and produces a massive harvest from July to September. It thrives in cold climates such as the Midwest and New England, holding up to brutal winters with a lot of snow. 

This cultivar produces thick and juicy berries, perfect for jams, pies, or eating fresh off the cane. The berries have an intense raspberry flavor that makes it one of the most planted cultivars in the world. 

Pruning this cultivar in November is easy! Simply remove its dead or damaged canes and cut old growth canes to the ground. Remove any pesky suckers growing from the base of the plant. Leave all but 6 canes. Make sure to use gloves, because these bushy cane berries have small thorns. 

Blackberry ‘‘Marionberry’’

	botanical name Rubus fruticosus ‘Marionberry’
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 4-6’
	hardiness zones 6-9

The Marionberry is one of the juiciest, wildest, and most unruly cane berry cultivars. This is what makes it so fun to grow for foodies and adventurous gardeners in the Northwest and wetter parts of the country. 

The breeder George F. Waldo first cultivated this hybrid back in 1956 at Willamette Valley Farms. It quickly became popular in gardens across the country for producing harvests of up to six tons per acre. Their huge clusters of large, slightly tart, juicy fruit are perfect for eating raw or in jams, pies, or syrups. 

Marrionberries shouldn’t be pruned during their first year, aside from removing dead or diseased wood. They need this extra time to grow vigorously before producing fruit. During their second year, train your primocanes to a trellis and trim away canes that have fruit that year. 

Raspberry ‘Polana’

	botanical name Rubus idaeus ‘Polana’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height Up to 6 feet
	hardiness zones 4-8

The Polona cultivar is made for cold climates and can survive some of the most intense winters in the US. It produces medium to large bright red berries bursting with flavor. Most harvests are from June to early August and have enough acidity to make some killer pies! 

The canes are thin and fast-growing. Although they don’t need much maintenance, they benefit from a good pruning in November. 

These plants are primocane-producing varieties, meaning they fruit on their new growth. Prune old and dead wood and remove it from your garden. Then, simply trim all but 6 last year’s floricanes down to the ground. 

Raspberry ‘Joan J’

	botanical name Rubus idaeus ‘Joan J’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4-6’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Joan J is a raspberry cultivar that’s beloved for its high yields and easy maintenance. You’ll love its sweet and slightly tart fruit that’s perfect for jams, pies, or snacking straight off the cane. 

These plants can produce two crops in one season after their first year in the ground. They are thornless and easy to train during the summer growing months. Besides being safe to touch, their fruit comes on strong and early, giving you an early harvest of delectable fruit. 

Give this cultivar a good pruning, cutting back tips of canes that fruited in fall by 1/3 in November. Clear out dead or diseased wood and throw it away in a safe spot away from your garden. 

Loganberry 

	botanical name Rubus loganobaccus
	sun requirements Full sun
	height Up to 8 feet
	hardiness zones 7-10

The Loganberry is a hybrid crossbreed known for being hearty and delicious. Horticulturalist James Harvey Logan accidentally created it when he crossed a wild blackberry with an Antwerp red raspberry in 1880. Because of its sour taste, it took a while for gardeners to appreciate it. But soon, jam and pie aficionados fell in love with its bright purple tart berries and the rest is history. 

It produces sturdy canes that behave more like its wild blackberry parent. It takes two to three years to bear fruit. When it’s ready, you’ll get tons of deep purple clusters for up to 15 years or longer. 

When pruning, it’s important to use heavy-duty gardening gloves because of their sharp thorns. Cut old-growth wood to the ground in November and remove any dead or diseased sections. Leave any new wood.

Raspberry ‘Himbo-Top™’

	botanical name Rubus idaeus ‘Himbo-Top™’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 5-6’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Himbo-Top™ is a popular cultivar of raspberry that does very well in cold climates. It can thrive in areas with a lot of snow and is one of the easiest cane berries to maintain. 

It has a very high tolerance to phytophthora root rot and seldom has any disease issues. The plants need a sturdy trellis system to support their long and strong canes. Its berries are full of flavor and keep their shape for long periods, making them great for desserts or snacking on their own. 

Prune this cultivar in November to create high yields in summer. It produces fruit on its primocanes so remove last year’s growth to the ground. 

Boysenberry

	botanical name Rubus ursinus x idaeus
	sun requirements Full sun
	height Up to 6 feet
	hardiness zones 5-10

The boysenberry is a fantastic cane-berry hybrid that produces deliciously juicy black, deep purple, and red fruit. Charles Rudolph Boysen developed the hybrid in the early 1900s when he crossed a raspberry, a blackberry, and most likely a loganberry. When the berry reached the attention of Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm fame, it became a regular addition to American jams. 

The plant has thornless canes that you can easily trellis to control its growth. It’s cold hearty and adapts well to various climates. Like other cane berries, it likes to grow in neutral soil with heavy mulch for winter protection. 

When pruning in November, cut old growth down to the grown, and don’t be afraid to remove too much. For two-year or older plants, leave a few healthy primocanes to become floricanes the following season. These hearty and vigorous plants will spring back to life and are relatively easy to control. 

Raspberry ‘Double Gold’

	botanical name Rubus ellipticus ‘Double Gold’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4-6’
	hardiness zones 4-9

The unique Double Gold is a favorite hybrid for many gardeners across the US. It produces medium-sized berries with intense sweet flavors and straw colors that mimic fine-aged chardonnay. 

This cultivar is highway disease tolerant and grows vigorously (too vigorously in areas where it is classed as an invasive species). Being a highly productive primocane cultivar, you’ll get two crops in one season. You should get berries during its first season and even larger harvests in the following years. 

Pruning in November is easy. Simply remove any dead or diseased wood and suckers and cut old growth to the ground. Leave about 6 of the strongest canes for next year’s fruit.

Blackberry ‘Ouachita’

	botanical name Rubus fruticosus ‘Ouachita’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4-5’
	hardiness zones 5-9

The ouchita cultivar of blackberry is one of the newest cultivars available. The University of Arkansas developed it to be a thornless and high-yielding blackberry. Its berries are sweet and very large compared to other blackberry cultivars. 

It grows upright and produces thick clusters of dark fruit. It’s self-fertile so once you plant it in your garden, you’ll have continuous fruit for years. 

Like other blackberries, it has thick canes that grow vigorously. Prune it in November to cut down on dead wood and thin out its growth. Remove any suckers and don’t be afraid to cut too much, but leave 6 strong canes for fruiting next year. After a few years of continuous pruning, your plants will produce gorgeous upright canes and dense clusters of fruit year after year. 

Raspberry ‘Polka’

	botanical name Rubus ellipticus ‘Polka’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4-6’
	hardiness zones 4-8

The cold-hearty and delicious Polish cultivar is an epic addition to any home garden. You’ll get delicious and uniform fruit that comes out in late summer. 

Its cane stands tall and upright, making it easy to control compared to other varieties of cane berries. It can handle cold winters with lots of snow. It can also handle drought conditions better than many cultivars, making it the perfect cane berry for dry climates.