Red Currant Pruning: In Spring And Autumn. How To Prune Red Currants Correctly For Beginners? How To Rejuvenate Old Bushes?

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

All fruit shrubs must be cut, otherwise they overgrow, start to hurt, and bear less fruit. There are several types of trimming, depending on the situation, the necessary one is selected. In each individual case, the gardener should have minimal knowledge of how to properly prune, otherwise the shrub can be harmed, not helped.

The need for a procedure

The main goals of pruning are to remove dead, damaged or diseased wood, form a healthy plant, and promote fruiting . It is important to remove any branches that cross or rub against each other. They form spots that look like a wound. They are the cause of the appearance of infections, fungal infections. The intersection of branches also has a rather bad effect on air circulation.

Forming a bush and promoting fruiting go hand in hand. New young wood will be lighter in color and more flexible. These shoots should not be touched.

Currant gives a greater yield on the shoots of the 2nd year … This means that the branches that grew last year will bear fruit for you this year. After a 3-year period, it makes no sense to keep these shoots on the bush, so they can be safely cut off. In general, about 1/3 of the currants should be removed each year. Thus, a completely new bush will be formed by the 4th year from planting.

Another benefit of pruning is pest control. Sawfly caterpillars do not like to be disturbed and therefore leave after pruning the plants.

Timing

You can cut the currant bush in early spring, before the buds have blossomed, or after harvesting . Autumn is the time to renew the shrub, to rejuvenate it.

The currants should be trimmed while they sleep. The time will depend on the area where the shrub is planted.

In the southern regions, pruning is sometimes done at the end of February, in the north - at the beginning of autumn.

Timely pruning of the currant bush promotes growth . But if you are going to carry out the procedure in early spring, then you should make sure that there will be no more frost. Pruning shoots is a signal for new growth.

In winter, prune any old branches that are close to the ground, any damaged, diseased, broken ones . You must prune the bush so so that 12 shoots remain on it . This will maximize the future yield of the currant.

Types of trimming

If you cut red currants correctly in the spring, you can get a rich harvest. For beginners, I would like to wish to use the scheme, and for a two-year-old and one-year-old berry, different types of bush formation are used.

Shortening a seedling

The seedling is shortened before planting it in the open ground. There should be 3 to 5 buds above the surface. But there is one condition: if the seedling consists of only 6-8 buds, then it should not be cut. It is necessary to remove only those areas that are frozen, if any. Cut to healthy wood.

Formative

The formation of bushes of white, red or black currant is a crucial moment. You can do this trim yourself if you read the recommendations.

Prune red and white currants for the first two years to create an open crown. This design will allow sunlight and air to penetrate into the plant, respectively, and the fruits will ripen evenly.

In the first year, choose 3 or 4 main stems that grow from the main stem in opposite directions . Cut each in half. Remove other smaller branches and shoots, as well as those that are broken or intersected. Create an open vase-like shape. When pruning stems, remove them just above the outward-facing bud, so new ones will then grow outward, not inward.

In the second year, you need to choose another 3 or 4 shoots growing away from the leader. By the third summer, you will have 9 to 12 strong branches .… These are the main flowering and fruiting shoots.

In the third year, trim off about half of the previous year's growth on each outward growing stem, continuing to cut new inward shoots. And also remove stepchildren growing from the base of the plant. During the summer, all new side branches are cut so that only one bud remains on each stem.

At the end of each season, out of the first three shoots, the best 3 or 4 are retained . In the fourth year, branches are removed from the first year, the oldest ones, and from 3 to 4 new young ones are kept.

Currants bear fruit on old wood, in order to preserve productivity, young shoots and side branches are cut off.

Rejuvenating

It also happens that it is time to rejuvenate the currant bush. Old bushes without such treatment have a hard time, they cease to bear fruit, and there is little sense from the shrub.

The spring rejuvenating procedure has its own characteristics

• Usually this procedure is carried out when the plant has already gone 8-9 years from planting .
• Rejuvenation - this is not a one-time procedure, but the systematic removal of old shoots.
• Better pruning in autumn or early spring .
• After pruning, the crop will bear fruit only for the next season .
• If the plant adds about 40 cm in growth every year, then on the shoots when pruning, you need to leave from five buds.
• On old bushes, remove all old branches, leave only 10-15 main shoots .

Sanitary

In order for the cultivation of currants to be beneficial, it is necessary to properly trim the bush. After planting, currant stems should be cut about 2.5 cm above the ground. This promotes strong root growth. Currant bushes grown in containers and rooted do not need to be pruned after planting. For the second winter, new shoots are harvested, which are weak or grow parallel to the ground.

Rooted currants can be trimmed in the same way as gooseberries. It is important to keep the inside of the bush free of weak, broken, diseased or intersecting branches . In addition, the stems hanging close to the ground are cut. Every year after the third season, 3-year-old wood is harvested to make way for a younger, fruiting one. Old branches will be dark in color.

Follow-up care

There are peculiarities in caring for currants after pruning. Red currant bushes need water to bear fruit well . After the first year from planting, it is especially important to add extra moisture from June to September, since the bushes are most active during this period.

Mature shrubs have an extensive root system, so when watering currants, you need to make sure that the soil is well wet. The more water the bush receives, the juicier the berries are. The main thing is to water it regularly, and then spread a layer of mulch near the trunk of the shrub to retain moisture. This rule is especially important in the summer.

Mulching is a necessary part of fruit plant care . The gardener needs to renew the mulch layer every year. It can be bark, straw, manure - in any case, mulch keeps the soil cool, which is especially important if currants are grown in the southern region. In addition, the mulch maintains the required moisture level around the plants.

Fertilization is an important step in the care of currants. Although it is not necessary to apply additional fertilizing, adding fertilizer will significantly increase the quantity and quality of the fruit. You need to properly plan feeding in late autumn. Apply a 2.5 cm layer of compost manure to the area around the bush.

If the currant is growing slowly, additional trace minerals can be added in late spring or early summer when the shrubs are blooming.

Among other things, it is important to remove weeds on time, and keep the trunk circle clean.

Currants usually resist disease well, especially if the grower has chosen a disease-resistant variety. The best way to avoid fungal infections and insects is to provide them with essential nutrients in the spring .… Ideal for this: compost, manure and seaweed.

Preventive treatment with Bordeaux mixture at the end of winter also helps to avoid a lot of problems . A strong pressure of water and a solution of insecticidal soap help from aphids. From folk remedies, neem oil or any other garden and garlic infusion.

Fighting diseases is worth fungicides … Most of them contain copper, sulfur and iron. Copper sulfate helps a lot, but if the gardener realizes too late that he has a strong infection on the bushes, he will have to cut off the shoots of new growth. Such forced pruning is called sanitary and is carried out at any time of the year.

Mold is a fungal disease that usually occurs due to the lack of quality and timely pruning. This is a sign that the currant bush is too crowded with shoots . In this case, you can use a fungicide to treat the bushes, but be sure to prune and then do it annually so that this does not happen again.