2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 15:51
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Latin name: Ribes Family: Gooseberry Headings: Fruit and berry crops, Ornamental trees and shrubs |
Currant (Latin Ribes) - berry culture; perennial deciduous shrub belonging to the Gooseberry family.
Description
Currant is a shrub up to 1.5 m high, with strong branches and rather strong annual shoots that form from the base of the bush. The leaves are petioled, palmate-lobed, the outer side is glossy, the lower one is pubescent along the veins, arranged alternately.
Flowers are collected in clusters of 4-8 pieces, they can be reddish-brown or greenish in color, during flowering they are arranged vertically, at the initial stage of berry formation - they droop. Flowering takes place in late April - early May and lasts 2 weeks. The fruit is a multi-seeded berry, it can be pale yellow, black, red and brown.
Currant is an unpretentious plant that gives good yields of berries, with proper and timely care, about 15-17 kg can be harvested from one bush. The culture is productive for a long period, in the third year after planting it enters fruiting, which can last up to 20-25 years. Ripe berries remain on the branches for a long time. Today this culture is grown in gardens in many countries of the world in many varieties and hybrids. Currants are especially popular among Russian gardeners.
The subtleties of growing
Currant is a photophilous plant, prefers well-lit areas, when grown in the shade gives small yields of low-quality berries. Gooseberries are drought-resistant, relatively picky about the level of moisture in the soil. It grows well on loamy, clayey and sandy loam soils, moist, loose, nutritious soils. Currants do not tolerate lowlands and depressions with stagnant cold air.
Landing
It is preferable to plant currant seedlings in the fall, or rather, in late September - early October (depending on the region). Before the onset of persistent cold weather, the plant will have time to acquire a good root system, and will endure the cold winter without problems. Planting is allowed in early spring, in summer, currants can only be planted in containers. Saplings can be both one-year and two-year-old, and they both take root well in a new place.
A pit for planting is prepared 2-3 weeks before the intended planting, its size should be 40 * 40 * 40 cm. The soil taken out of the pit is thoroughly mixed with rotted manure (6-8 kg), superphosphate (200-300 g) and wood ash (200 g). Part of the soil substrate is poured onto the bottom of the pit, then the seedling is lowered, spreading the roots, tamped with the remaining soil, watered abundantly and mulched with peat or fallen leaves. Immediately after planting, all the shoots of the seedling are cut off, leaving 5-7 cm above the soil level.
Care features
The first years after planting the seedlings, new shoots are formed, the plant lacks minerals, so it needs timely fertilizing with complex fertilizers. Organic matter should be applied in late autumn.
Weeding is carried out regularly, because the weeds take a lot of useful substances and moisture from the bushes.. Loosening is carried out three times a season, the overgrown bushes need support. You should carefully monitor the condition of the shrubs, the branches should not overlap each other, otherwise they will not dry out after rain, which will lead to disease and sour berries.
For the winter, the shrubs are tied up, since the snow presses on the branches, as a result they break down. If severe frosts are expected, the currants are covered with a special material.
Trimming
Currants do not tolerate thickening, it negatively affects the yield and quality characteristics of berries. Therefore, the crop requires annual sanitary and formative pruning. Sanitary pruning is carried out in early spring, frozen and broken branches are removed.
Formative pruning is carried out closer to autumn, when the bushes enter a dormant phase. Currant bushes are formed from 15 branches of different ages, weak and seven-year-old branches are cut out, 3-5 developed annual shoots are left.
The shortening of annual branches is not required, or rather, this procedure should not be carried out, since flower buds are laid on them. Shoot pruning is carried out on the upward bud. Slices with a diameter over 0.8 cm are lubricated with garden pitch.
Recommended:
Black Currant. Growing
The benefits of black currant berries have been known for a long time. A large amount of vitamin C makes it indispensable in the diet. The fragrant finished product is good in any form: fresh, frozen, compote, jam, jelly. How to properly plant and care for a valuable crop?
Bristly Currant
Bristly currant is one of the plants of the family called saxifrage, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Ribes hispidulum (Jancz.) Pojark. As for the name of the bristly currant family itself, then in Latin it will be like this:
Two-spined Currant
Two-spined currant is one of the plants of the family called saxifrage, in Latin the name of this plant will sound like this: Ribes diacantha Pall. As for the name of the two-needle currant family itself, in Latin it will be like this: Saxifragaceae Juss.
Currant Leaves Dry - What To Do?
Currant bushes can be seen in almost every country house - and there is a completely logical explanation for this: these cute berries are not only very tasty, but also incredibly healthy! And they are also an excellent remedy for combating vitamin deficiency in the winter and spring seasons. So, not a single summer resident will refuse a good harvest of currants! But sometimes the leaves on the currant bushes begin to dry, and this is a very alarming sign. Why is this happening, and how to deal with this scourge?
Angry Currant Currant Roll
The crooked currant leafworm lives everywhere and is very partial to berry crops. Most often, it damages currants, blackthorns, mountain ash, various fruit crops, wild rose and hawthorn. Spruce, hazel, buckthorn, birch, oak, larch, barberry, as well as ash, poplar and maple do not escape her attention. So that the destructive activity of harmful caterpillars does not lead to the loss of most of the crop, these gluttonous parasites must be actively combated
