I am in the same area too. I also don't bother to stake my raspberry but they are fenced in a corner of my yard. My theory is that the canes need to be pruned anyway, why do much hassle to stake them. I am getting pretty good harvest this year. For the last week or so, I am getting a quart if raspberries every day. I have been freezing some for latter.

now I have to figure out when to prune them. Some say after the harvest. Some say early winter. And prune the fruited canes only and not the new canes. I am confused.

Greetings:

Summer bearing raspberries have biennial canes. The second year they are called a floricane as they will flower and fruit. The first year they are called primocanes. After harvest is the best time to prune them. When I am done picking, I cut out all the floricanes. Why leave them grow when they will be dead the following spring anyway? It is easy to tell which are floricanes at this time as the old canes will not have a shiny green bark color but will be dull and coarse bark. You can also tell which one's to prune out after harvest as the floricanes will have the caps still on the canes (where the fruit was).

You can prune them out in spring to but why wait? I prefer to clean them out after the harvest season so my primocanes have more room.

Fall bearing raspberry varieties are different in that they produce fruit on the tips of the primocanes the first year in fall. If left, they will produce some fruit on the sides in summer. Most just mow them down in spring and let them sucker back up for a fall crop only. Spotted wing drosophila is so bad in fall that I will no longer grow fall bearing raspberries. My summer crop seems to escape that issue so far (population of Drosophila is lower at that time of year).

Thanks Spartanapples! If my raspberries is producing now (late August into September) I assume it is Fall bearing?

Yes, you should have fall bearing. Many different fall bearing varieties. Fall bearing will bear over a long period of time (August,September) and seem to continue until a hard frost wipes the fruit out. Heritage, Autumn Britten ect. The nice part on fall bearing is no picnic beetles! July bearing can get bothered by picnic beetles especially if any of the fruit is allowed to get over ripe. Some fall bearing varieties are really good tasting and some I have found to have small crumbly fruit (Autumn Britten). Always nice when you can have raspberries in September. A real treat.

Wait is mine also fall bearing? My raspberries started growing around june and its still producing fruit now. My zone is 7a in northern NJ btw. Also they are starting to have white flowers and is attracting bees.

Also do they grow back on old wood or new wood?

Heruga:

Perhaps we should delete the terms of summer bearing and fall bearing. Most raspberries produce fruit only on 2 year old canes (floricanes) in summer. These types will not bear fruit in the fall.

Some varieties will produce fruit in fall on 1 year canes on the tips only (primo canes). The following year these canes will be 2 years old and produce fruit on the sides of the canes in summer (floricanes). These are called fall bearing varieties.

I would suspect since your plants bear in summer and fall, you have a "fall bearing variety". Perhaps they bore in summer on canes left from last year and are now bearing a fall crop on new canes that came up this past spring?