After a cold winter, summer residents resume caring for their garden. You grow berry crops, and you are wondering how to cut currants in spring? Indeed, the care of these shrubs in this period is no less important than, for example, in the fall.
Spring care prepares currants for fruiting. If you want your berry berry to produce a plentiful harvest and do it regularly, the question is: "How to prune currants in spring?" - will be very relevant. It is not difficult to take care of the bush, however, it is imperative to carry out the necessary measures and adhere to certain rules.
Why do this?
If blackcurrant grows on your site , leaving it in spring will bring a bountiful harvest. Pruning causes strong shoot growth in the underground part of the bush. Such processes are called basal, null or shoots of substitution. After pruning, branching and growth of annual shoots growing on perennial branches are strengthened, bush thickening is prevented, as a result, the size of berries is increased.
Annual spring pruning of currant branches will help to form a bush and not only. This procedure gives a guarantee of the harvest. The fact is that this shrub has a peculiarity: basically, the crop is formed on branches of three to four years of age. When this time passes, yields drop sharply. Timely pruning of branches provides for currants an increase in fruit-bearing wood - that is, new basal shoots appear.
Sanitary measure
Caring for currants in early spring also includes sanitary measures. Cropping refers to one of them. If there is no appropriate care, growths in the currant bush will be sick and weak. Possible accumulation of harmful insects, which can subsequently lead to the death of the plant itself.
How to prune currant bushes?
To begin with, you should remember the basic rule: pruning of bushes of this berry should be carried out in early spring, when the buds have not yet blossomed on the branches and sap flow has not occurred.
If a currant seedling has been planted recently, its shoots should be shortened in order to contribute to its bushiness. Pruning is done so that each seedling has a pair of three buds left. Then in the fall, three or four new shoots will appear near the currant. If the growth of a seedling is very weak, it is necessary to shorten the shoots more strongly, in some cases it is necessary to cut off almost to the base, leaving only a stump. Now you know how to prune currants in spring. However, this does not end her care. The shrub continues to evolve.
After another year, pruning is again included in the care of currants. In early spring , the so-called zero, young shoots are primarily removed. As a result of such actions, the plant remains four to five of the strongest branches that form the base of the bush. It is necessary to trim the tops of young shoots on the branches, while leaving two or three buds on them. Thanks to this pinching, the so-called pods are formed - special fruit twigs that grow on old shoots.
Care for a young bush
Continuing the theme of “How to Cut Currants in Spring,” it is worth noting that when a berry grower is three to four years old, the gardener should act similarly. Again, you should remove the extra zero shoots, leave only five or six of the most powerful and strong branches. In addition, in the most dense places of the bush you need to trim thin and diseased branches. If this is not done, weak new branches will grow, which will certainly affect the quantity and quality of the future crop. Be sure to pinch the tops of the annual shoots.
Shoots of two or three years of age must be cut off, while leaving a couple of kidneys. This stimulates the appearance of lateral fruiting shoots. The correctness of the spring annual pruning of currants is checked as follows: on any bush aged from one year to six years, about 15-20 strong and healthy branches should be left.
Blackcurrant more than other shrubs needs pruning and reacts very quickly to it. However, care for currants in early spring should take into account the characteristics of fruiting and growth of the berry. During the first year of life, as a rule, a basal shoot does not fork. But next spring, the shoot begins to grow actively, but at the same time bears fruit very weakly. In the third or fourth year, this process turns into a strong perennial branch with lateral branches. While the annual growth is strong enough, the flower buds hatch and lay throughout the shoot. They form brushes with full-bodied large berries. The most fruitful of blackcurrant are three- and four-year-old branches.
How to care for currant bushes that are more than five years old
In the fifth or sixth year, the basal branch still bears fruit a little, however, the growth is greatly reduced, amounting to about 3-5 cm. At the weakened ends of the skeletal branches, fruit perennial twigs (Kolchatka and Podushki) with shortened shoots appear. They form quite numerous short tassels with small berries.
Blackcurrant-like pods are short-lived; after one or two years of fruiting, they die. Their growth is also very weak, and the yield of branches after reaching the age of six is significantly reduced. As a result, the largest yield is harvested from the periphery of the bush.
The above method answers the question: "How to prune black currants?"
Pruning tips
Buying new currant bushes, the gardener does not always know what kind of variety it is, what taste the berries will have, what size. If you have black currants on the plot, to find out, you can leave a couple of shoots without pruning. Next summer, several single brushes with berries will appear here.
After two or three years, you need to leave only 3-4 conveniently located and well-developed annual shoots. All the rest must be cut at the base of the bush. First, the weak, sick and thickened should be removed. At the same time, old branches are cut if they are damaged by pests or poorly developed. If the root shoots form a bush weakly, their growth can be stimulated by cutting off one or two two-three-year-old branches, even if they bear fruit. The basic pruning rule is to cut branches at the very base.
Current year growth
For the gardener, the growth of the current year is the main indicator that it is time to trim. If the shoots are weak and small (about 10 cm), you should go down a branch down to the place where a strong top or a lot of small plants grow. Now to this place you need to cut off the top of the branch. The growth of the last year affects the future crop, it is it that bears blackcurrant fruit. Care in the spring begins with an inspection of the branches: the bearing part will be much lighter than the rest of the branches.
The difference between the old and the young stalk
Old stems have gray bark, and there are practically no berries on the old shoot. This is especially noticeable in spring: there are no flower brushes on the "older" shoots. You can try to consider the rings on the branches - these are indicators of the number of years. If the branches are older than five to six years, it is advisable to remove them, otherwise the yield of the bush will fall.
Rejuvenate an old bush. How to do it right
It is immediately worth noting that if the bush is already more than 21-25 years old, it should be uprooted and burned. No operations can help here. However, if the bush is 15-18 years old, you can cut it to the base by about a third. When substitution shoots appear, they should be cut all but the three strongest. Next year, cut another third of the oldest branches and again leave three new shoots of substitution. And already in the third year, the remaining old stems are cut. It is undesirable to cut off the entire bush at once, although in exceptional cases it is possible.
If you have not only black berry growing on your site, but also its red and white “sisters,” you should be aware that the pruning options for such shrubs are slightly different.
We have already examined how to prune black currants in spring . However, in the spring, red currant also needs care. This shrub has some differences in pruning. Let's consider them in more detail.
How to prune red currants?
In general, the cropping technology is similar. However, the red "cousin" pinching the tops of the branches is not carried out. In this shrub, fruiting buds are located precisely on the apical parts of the branches of two and three years of age.