raspberries shriveled, dried fruit - Ask Extension
This year many of the fruit on my raspberries did not even begin to ripen. They seemed to dry up very early. Some fruit are now ripening, but next t...
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raspberries shriveled, dried fruit #581045
Asked July 17, 2019, 4:14 PM EDT
This year many of the fruit on my raspberries did not even begin to ripen. They seemed to dry up very early. Some fruit are now ripening, but next to them are smaller, hard, dried up buds. I'm getting about 1/4 as many ripe fruit as in past years. The vegetation looks healthy - green, growing, no sign of insect or fungal damage. I've attached 2 pictures.
The plants have been in this location about 7-8 years. They are in part shade so never have been heavy producers, but always did much better than this year. There may have been some unripe (aborted) dried fruit in other years, but never in the numbers I'm seeing this year. Do you have any ideas on what is causing this problem? Could it be over-fertilizing, too much water,/rain, some problem with not getting pollinated?
Thanks for any help
Washington County Minnesota
Expert Response
I would guess they need more sun. Raspberries are a full sun plant. Also lack of pollinators and the extreme heat we have had can all add to the problem. Here is a link to our publication on raspberries: https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-raspberries-home-garden