My raspberry wine defoliated from heat stress a couple of weeks ago. It had been about six feet tall and its now about two feet tall after the bushwhacking I gave it. Since we haven't had a bit of rain, it hasn't started to grow back yet. It should regrow and bloom again (she crosses her fingers and prays for rain).

This spring I cut some back to see what would happen. The plants were shorter but bloomed just the same. Next year I will probably taper them more.

Mollydog..when you mentioned that next year you will probably taper them more. Can I assume that you will cut them back different heights. Sounds like it would improve circulation more to avoid mildew I would think. It sounds like it would work. good idea!

I planted Raspberry Wine for the first time in late spring. It has done very well and bloomed. I was just starting to enjoy it and half of it seemed to get knocked over by the sprinkler. Not positive that was the reason, but I noticed it after it had the sprinkler on the bed. Some of the stems were bent in half and would not come up again, so I cut back all those that bent over. Too bad it was just filling in the spot I wanted it for. But, I do like the flower color and size and the plant had healthy looking foliage. There is such a lot of summer and fall still to come, that I am expecting to see new growth at some point. Wednesday, rain is forecast and that is much needed for everything. I expect that next year will be even better.

I've been growing 'Raspberry Wine' since 2005. The only significant problem I've ever encountered was one year my entire stand was decimated by the horsemint moth. (Apparently, everyone in the state had the same problem). Other than that, I've had no real issues. I have found that the bloom period is significantly longer if the plants are kept moist, but they will tolerate drought. I've never had a mildew problem and it's a pretty thick stand at this point.

Here it is, last July:
{{gwi:250179}}