Black Currant: Cuttings Bush

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Planting of black currant seedlings can be carried out twice a year: in spring and autumn. But since in the spring it is not always possible to match the weather and at the same time manage to move the planting material into the garden before the buds awaken, it is still preferable to carry out these works in the autumn. In addition, if you do this in October, the seedling will have time to root well before frost, and during the winter the soil will settle well near the shrub. And after winter, the currants will quickly begin to grow, not wasting time and energy in vain in the spring

Choosing planting material

Experienced gardeners mainly use three methods of breeding black currant:

• lignified cuttings;

• green cuttings;

• layering.

The easiest way to get a strong, viable seedling from a cut. To do this, in the spring, even before the buds bloom, a couple of last year's shoots are tilted to the ground, pressed tightly to the soil surface and the joint is sprinkled with moist humus. In autumn, the rooted layers are separated from the mother bush and transplanted to a prepared place.

Also in the fall, you can harvest cuttings for planting them in a nursery in the spring. In winter, until disembarkation, they are stored under the snow. With the arrival of a warm pore, the cuttings are cut up to 20 cm long and rooted. And next fall you will get an excellent seedling.

However, the gardener does not always have a bush for propagation at his disposal, and planting material has to be purchased. The quality of the planting material largely depends on what kind of harvest the currant will give the gardener. Therefore, seedlings should be chosen without a hint of infection with a kidney mite or glass. A lot of harm will be done to the plantings by the shoot gall midge, infection with terry.

Before buying, you need to evaluate the root system of the seedling. It should consist of at least three skeletal roots, the optimal length of the lignified part is within 15-20 cm. The bark should have a yellowish tint, and the lobe should be sufficiently developed. You also need to pay attention to the condition of the aboveground part of the planting material. It is better to take a seedling with two branches from the base with a height of 30 cm.

Preparing for landing

For growing currants, soil types such as loam and sandy loam with a high humus content are better suited. On heavy soils, as well as on sandy soils, large quantities of organic matter will be required. In addition, currants do not like high acidity. In such conditions, the bushes are often affected by the fungus, the berries fall off.

Before planting seedlings, the roots damaged during transportation are trimmed, dried areas are removed. An important condition for good survival is the protection of the root system from drying out. Therefore, it is better to wrap the roots from the moment of excavation to transplantation with foil. When the roots are dry, they need to be kept in a bucket of water for a couple of hours. Pruning seedlings up to 15 cm can be carried out both before and after planting. At the same time, they make sure that 2-3 buds are preserved on the shoot.

Features of planting black currant

The seedlings are placed at a distance of approximately 1 m from each other. Planting material should be immersed in the hole slightly obliquely. In this case, the root collar is immersed to a depth of approximately 6-7 cm - deeper than they grew in the nursery. This technique contributes to the faster formation of a wide base of the bush and the formation of additional roots. When planted upright, the bush will tend to form a stem instead of developing regeneration shoots from buried buds.

The roots should be loose in the planting pit. In the process of work, they are straightened so that they do not look up. When filling the hole with earth, make sure that it is evenly distributed between the roots, filling all the voids. Then the soil is gently crushed with hands, squeezing the seedling from all sides.

When the roots are hidden under the soil, but the hole is not yet completely filled with earth, the seedling is watered. To do this, you will need half a bucket for one future bush. Then the pit is completely covered with dry earth and trampled under foot.

To keep water in the soil longer, the land around the seedlings is mulched. Peat is the optimal material for this. With an autumn planting, such a measure will additionally protect young roots from a sudden sharp cold snap and freezing, while the rooting process in a new place has not yet been completed. When planting is carried out in the spring, after three to four days, watering the seedlings must be repeated, and again arrange a layer of mulch.

An additional argument in favor of spring planting is the peculiarities of the weather conditions in the region. When your winter is with little snow, then during autumn planting there is a risk of freezing of the root system. Then the seedlings purchased in the fall are added dropwise until spring.