2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Black currant, in comparison with red, is a rather capricious plant. It is less affected by diseases and pests. But, despite this, the shrub needs care no less than the red currant. Timely and correct pruning is one of the most important points in caring for a berry bush. How to carry out this operation so as not to harm and increase the yield? Here are some tips you need to know
First advice. Remember that in black currant fruit buds are laid on the growth of this year, which means that the larger the growth, the greater the yield for the next year. Therefore, do not overdo it when trimming and do not remove what can be left behind. But nevertheless, remember that pruning is simply necessary, since if you do not carry out this operation, then the increase will have an excellent harvest, but only in the first couple of years. Then the bush will begin to thicken. Accordingly, there will be almost no growth on the branches, only at the very tips. Well, currants will also be there - at the very tips and in small quantities.
Here it is easier to do this: this year, cut one part of the branches, and the next year, the other. That is, pruning in turn, then every year there will be an increase in branches and a good yield of the bush.
Second advice. If you are just starting currant bushes for yourself or decided to update existing plantings, then be sure to prune after planting new bushes in the ground. How? In fact, the operation is simple: only three to five buds should remain above the ground, cut off the rest completely (note that when planting, the bush must be buried ten to fifteen centimeters into the soil). During the first year of life, a currant bush from each bud will grow itself on a twig, up to a meter long (usually about 70-75 centimeters). That is, by the fall you will have a young bush with three to five branches. That's all, this year we are no longer pruning. And the next year, from these young twigs, we get the first, still small, harvest.
Third advice. After harvesting on a bush that is several years old, periodically cut out old branches to renew the bush. And don't forget to control the number of young shoots. Since if you leave too many branches, then the next year the harvest may be good, but it will "suck" all the strength from the bush and in a year you will be left without currants, because the plant will need to recover and gain strength. To prevent this from happening, remove some of the young shoots.
How to determine how many branches to leave on a bush? After all, it will seem to someone that, for example, ten is a lot, but for someone a dozen is not enough. Look at the bush. On a weak plant, leave no more than five branches, this is enough for him to both give a crop and get a little stronger. On the middle bush, it is permissible to leave up to 12 branches. But a strong bush can easily cope with fifteen branches, while it can give a good harvest and not lose strength.
Fourth advice. Every five to seven years on old bushes, carry out radical pruning to rejuvenate the black currant. Do not be afraid to be left without a crop once, since without this operation, the yield will decrease and you still have to either rejuvenate the bush through radical pruning, or acquire new plants and plant them, waiting for them to grow and grow strong enough to give a good harvest.
Rejuvenate the bush by completely cutting off all branches, including young ones. Next year, new branches will appear in place of the cut ones. If there are too many of them, then do not forget about the thinning procedure.
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Black currant (Latin Ribes nigrum) - berry culture; a representative of the Currant genus of the Gooseberry family. Under natural conditions, black currant grows in moist deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, along coastal thickets, along the edges of swamps, along the banks of rivers and lakes and on wet floodplain meadows in the European part of Russia, the Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan, China and northern regions.
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