Gooseberries and its beneficial properties have been known since the time of Kievan Rus, when this shrub began to be grown in monasteries. From this sweet berry were prepared jelly and jam, jams and toppings for pies.
Today there are about 100 species of gooseberries, which, first of all, differ in the color of berries. They can be green, golden green, white green, red and white.
Gooseberry's ability to reproduce
To understand how to propagate gooseberries, you should know about the features of its varieties. Existing species of this shrub are divided according to their ability to reproduce into European and American groups.
European varieties have medium-height bushes with thick shoots and lots of thorns. The presence of such powerful shoots gives an understanding of how to propagate gooseberries with layering. They bend easily and quickly form the root system.
American varieties are hybrids, the hallmark of which is a powerful tall bush with drooping arcuate shoots. Such gooseberries are propagated by cuttings.
Another feature inherent in all types of this shrub is the ability to form subordinate roots. They arise at the base of the branches, so it’s clear how gooseberries can be propagated by dividing the bush.
Stand alone is the option of propagation of this plant by vertical layering.
Gooseberry propagation by cuttings in spring
To get a new healthy and fruiting bush, you should know how to propagate gooseberries with cuttings. The best time for this is considered to be early spring before the sap flow begins in the plants. The most healthy and powerful shoots are selected for cuttings.
This procedure will require young or combined cuttings. Bushes aged 7-8, but not older than 10 years are suitable for cuttings. Each shoot must have at least 5 buds with a length of 20 centimeters. It is recommended to store them until the onset of heat in a dark place, slightly sprinkled with earth. In order for the rooting process to go faster, it is better to plant cuttings in a greenhouse or in a greenhouse.
Gooseberry propagation by cuttings in autumn
Depending on how to propagate gooseberries with cuttings in the fall, they can be divided into 3 types.
- Hard-rooting species include the “cooperator,” “polonaise,” and “consul.” In order for the stalk to take root, it is necessary to take the upper and short parts of the first order shoots.
- In moderately rooted species, the procedure is the same as in difficult cuttings (“Ural emerald” and “beryl”).
- For easily rooted species, any part of the shoot is suitable ("black drop", "Ural pink").
The best option for planting cuttings in the fall is the presence of a greenhouse, but if you take combined processes, then planting can be done in open ground. For this process to succeed, you should know exactly how to propagate gooseberries with cuttings in the fall, based on the variety of the parent material.
Cuttings of green shoots
The best planting material is considered to be young shoots cut in early June. At this time, the branches were already compacted, but had not yet begun to lignify, they were light green in color and, when pressed harder, break with a soft crack.
Cut shoots with a length of 15-18 cm with garden shears and immediately put in a bucket of water. Having prepared the required number, they should be divided into cuttings 5-6 cm long with a pair of leaves on each. For faster rooting, experienced gardeners put planting material with the lower end into the water for several hours with the addition of solutions stimulating root growth.
Seasoned gardeners know how to propagate gooseberries with green cuttings. To do this, prepare a protected place in advance. The best option - this is the land released in the greenhouse after harvesting.
Planting green cuttings
Before planting cuttings, the earth in the greenhouse should be loosened with a hoe and leveled with a rake. Rows between the bushes are made at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other, between shoots is 5 cm.
It’s enough to stick a shank into loose soil, and in dense soil you need to make holes 4 cm deep. When the shoots are upright, the earth around the planting site should be well compacted and watered.
The whole difficulty in caring for planting material is that the soil must be constantly moistened, but not flooded. As soon as the top layer of the earth has dried up, it needs to be watered right there.
With constant dampness, planting material will begin to rot, and in dry land it will fade. It is also important to maintain constant humidity, for which it is recommended to cover young shoots with a film.
This is one of the ways how to propagate gooseberries with cuttings in the summer. It is important to remember that the landing site should be in the shade, and the temperature in the greenhouse should not exceed + 28-30 degrees.
Care for cuttings
One of the very productive ways how to propagate gooseberries with cuttings is to correctly perform not only the selection of the material and its planting, but also the care.
In the daytime, it is necessary to protect the cuttings from sunlight, for which the frames of the greenhouse or film, if it is a greenhouse, are thrown on top. In order to prevent planting material from sagging, it is sprayed with water 2-3 times a day. In dry and very hot summers, such work should be done 3-4 times a day.
To improve air circulation, it is recommended to ventilate the landing site, for which the glazing or film is removed for a while. It is better to use morning for this, until the sun has risen high, or evening. If you make such care on a daily basis, then in a month they will give roots.
Transplantation of rooted cuttings
One of the ways to propagate gooseberries in the summer is to cut it and transplant it into the open ground. Cuttings planted in the ground in early June by the end of July let out strong roots, which means they are ready for transplanting to a new place.
It is better not to delay the transplant, but to carry it out until the end of August - beginning of September. Cuttings that have sprouted and become seedlings, still need to get used to and adapt in a new place until the first cold weather.
You need to dig out young seedlings from the soil with a lump of humus and earth. To facilitate this process, it is recommended to water the plants first. It is impossible to get gooseberries out of dry land, since part of the roots, still weak, will come off, and the remaining ones will remain without an earthen coma.
In a new place, it is necessary to insulate the young shoots, for which it is enough to sprinkle the planting place with dry humus or peat. Gardeners leave weak specimens for growing in a greenhouse or greenhouse, and in the spring they are transplanted to a new place.
Although the procedure for growing seedlings is a troublesome affair - this is one of the best ways to propagate gooseberries with cuttings.
Propagation by layering
This plant has a feature of reproduction by layering. Therefore, those gardeners who are considering how to propagate gooseberries in the spring can easily apply this method.
- In early spring, near the gooseberry over 5 years old, you need to loosen the soil.
- In the shoot selected for removal (or several), an oblique incision is made immediately under the eye, which will be in the soil.
- Under an incision in the ground, you need to make a small hole (up to 10 cm) and pin the process in it with a hook or a special wooden fork.
- Sprinkle a hole in the ground.
A shoot planted in this way already by September will start up strong roots, and it can be cut off from the mother bush. To do this, you need to dig the earth around a new bush and separate young growth with sharp garden scissors.
The strongest seedlings can be immediately transplanted to the main place, and weak cuttings are planted in a separate bed so that they grow and grow over the next summer.
Propagation by layering from the old bush
The most advantageous is the reproduction by layering from old bushes. This method takes a little longer, but it makes it clear how to propagate gooseberries to get up to 30 new young bushes at a time. This allows you to stock up on planting material for several years in advance, which already saves time.
- The first stage of the work is devoted to deep pruning of the old bush. A stump with shoots of no more than 15 cm should remain from it. Before trimming, the ground near the bush must be well loosened. The work is carried out in early spring.
- During the summer, new shoots will go from the hemp, from which all weak or deformed ones must be removed, and the rest left to grow and gain strength until next spring.
- In the spring, leave 3 medium shoots, and the rest are bent in different directions, lowered into dug grooves up to 10 cm deep and simply sprinkled with earth with a slide.
- As the soil dries, it should be watered.
This is the most favorable type of reproduction by layering. To understand how to propagate gooseberries and where 30 new shrubs will come from, you should know that each bud will have roots in each young shoot.
There can be a dozen of these buds on each young branch, which means that these are future young gooseberry seedlings.
In autumn, all new bushes are separated with sharp scissors from the mother bush and sent for growing in the greenhouse. An outdoor transplant is conducted next spring. By this time, the plants will become strong, and they can be planted in rows at a distance of 0.5 m from each other.
It is wonderful that the old bush will give a new crop of young shoots, with which you can do the same work or leave it for its further rejuvenation and development.
Bush division
The gardener knows how to propagate gooseberries, and chooses the method for which he has enough time and effort. In addition, everyone decides at what time of the year he should work. Most prefer to tinker in the garden and in the spring, but there are processes in nature that only fall is suitable for.
Autumn types of work include reproduction by division. Many gardeners know how to propagate gooseberries from a bush, but which ones are suitable for this plant, it is also important to consider.
At the age of 2 years, gooseberries have already formed subordinate roots that grow near the basal branches. Such a shrub can be propagated by division, for which it should be dug up and divided into parts. It is important that each of them has roots and shoots.
If you took a bush older than 2 years, then you should definitely remove the old shoots, and prune the younger ones so that they send vital nutrients from the soil. For winter, it is better to cover the bushes from frost, for which you can sprinkle the ground with peat or a layer of leaves.
Choosing a place for a berry plantation
The choice of a place for planting gooseberries is determined in advance, since it can bear fruit in the same place up to 18 years. It should also be noted that on the site it is recommended to plant several different varieties so that the quality of the fruits and the level of productivity remain high throughout the entire period. One variety bears fruit, but its yield will be low. How to propagate gooseberries in autumn or spring, in fact, does not matter, the main thing is that all the preliminary work was carried out correctly.
To plant gooseberries, you need to choose a sunny spot and prepare the landing pits 0.5-0.7 m in depth. In each pit, land is laid mixed with dry manure, mineral fertilizers and ash.
If the soil composition is heavy or clay, it is better to worry about the presence of river sand in advance and add it to each hole. In the spring, this process is carried out before the swelling of the kidneys, and in the fall no later than the first decade of September.
Gooseberry pruning
This procedure is required on the gooseberry to-do list. It can be carried out in early spring, but experienced gardeners transfer this process to autumn. In this case, all old and dried shoots are removed, and in older bushes they are removed almost to the base.
Pruning should be carried out annually, as this gives the opportunity to appear new and strong shoots, which depend on an abundant harvest of tasty and healthy berries.