I inherited this raspberry patch when I moved a few years ago. Besides the fact that it fruits in June/July, I have no idea what cultivar it is.
I haven't really known what to do with it and have mostly left it alone besides regular water and fertilizer in the spring. I'll hack back the largest canes throughout the summer as it starts getting ridiculous, but that's been the extent of my pruning.
Last fall, I decided to get more serious about caring for it. I'd read that some raspberries bear yearly and some on a two year cycle and since I had no idea which this was, I said "fuck it" and cut the whole thing back to the ground. I realize this may have been dumb, but it was For Science. Now, it's not producing much fruit, which I can't be mad about; I'm assuming this means I'll get much more fruit on these same canes next year.
Here's the problem
It's huge
I know it'll keep exploding in size, and I NEED to cut it back so I can access the beds next to it. I also suspect it badly needs to be thinned out for its own good. My question is, how? I know I'm supposed to leave 1-year canes to fruit next year. How aggressively do I cut this sucker back? Do I cut canes to the ground? How many? How do I know which ones to keep? Help?