How to cut currants in spring? Black currant: care spring. Care for currants in early spring

After a cold winter, gardeners resume careyour garden. You grow berry crops, and you are interested in 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 forfruiting. If you want your berry to bring a bountiful harvest and do it regularly, the question: “How to cut currants in spring correctly?” Will be very relevant. Care for shrubs is easy, but you should definitely take the necessary measures and follow certain rules.

Why do this?

If you grow black currant on the site,spring care will bring a bountiful harvest. Pruning causes a strong growth of shoots in the underground part of the bush. Such processes are called root, zero, or shoots of substitution. After pruning, the branching and growth of annual shoots growing on perennial branches is enhanced, and the bush is prevented from thickening, and as a result, the size of the berries increases.

Annual spring pruning of currant brancheswill help to form a bush and not only. This procedure provides a yield guarantee. The fact is that this shrub has a peculiarity: basically, the harvest is formed on the branches of three to four years of age. When this time passes, yields are sharply reduced. The timely pruning of the branches provides for the currant an increase in the fruiting wood - that is, new root shoots appear.

Sanitary measure

Care for currants in early spring includessanitary measures. Pruning refers to one of them. If there is no appropriate care, the gains in the currant bush will be sick and weak. Perhaps the accumulation of harmful insects, which can subsequently lead to the death of the plant itself.

How to trim currant bushes?

To begin with, the basic rule should be remembered: the pruning of the bushes of this berry should be done in early spring, when the branches have not yet budded buds and sap flow has not come.

If a currant seedling is planted recently,to shorten his shoots, in order to contribute to his bushiness. Pruning is done so that each seedling has a pair or three of buds. Then in the fall three or four new shoots will appear in the currant. If the growth of the seedling is very weak, it is necessary to shorten the shoots more, in some cases it is necessary to cut it almost to the base, leaving only the stump. Now you know how to cut currants in spring. However, this care does not end there. The shrub continues to grow.

A year later, trimming is again included in the carecurrants. In early spring, the so-called zero, young shoots are removed first. As a result of such actions, four or five strongest branches remain on the plant, forming the base of the bush. It is necessary to cut the tops of young shoots on the branches, while leaving two or three buds on them. Thanks to this pinch, so-called fruit-trees will form - special fruit twigs that grow on old shoots.

Care for young shrubs

Continuing the theme "How to cut currants in spring",It should be noted that when the berry will be three or four years old, the gardener should act in a similar way. Again, remove the extra null processes, leaving only five or six of the most powerful and sturdy branches. In addition, in the thickest places of the shrub need to cut thin and sore branches. If this is not done, weak new branches will grow, which will necessarily affect the quantity and quality of the future harvest. Be sure to pinch the tops of the annual shoots.

Shoots of two or three years old needcut off, leaving at the same time a couple of three 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 from one to six years old, about 15-20 strong and healthy branches should be left.

Black currant more than other shrubsneeds pruning and reacts very quickly to it. However, care for currants in early spring should take into account the peculiarities of fruiting and berry growth. During the first year of life, as a rule, the basal shoot does not branch. But next spring, the shoot begins to grow actively, but at the same time it bears fruits very weakly. In the third or fourth year, this process turns into a strong perennial branch with lateral ramifications. While the annual growth is strong enough, the flower buds hatch and are laid throughout the shoot. They form a brush with full-weighted large berries. The most fruitful in black currant 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 is stillit bears some fruit, however, the growth is greatly reduced, amounting to about 3-5 cm. At the weakened ends of the skeletal branches appear fruit perennial twigs (thrusts and rams) with shortened shoots. On them quite numerous short brushes with small berries are formed.

Similar fruit in black currantshort-lived, after one or two years of fruiting, they die off. Their growth is also very weak, and the yield of the branches after reaching six years of age drops significantly. As a result, the largest crop is harvested from the periphery of the bush.

The above method answers the question: “How to cut black currants correctly?”

Pruning tips

Buying new currant bushes, a gardener is not alwayshe knows what kind of variety it is, what taste the berries will have, what size. If you have a black currant on the site to find out, you can leave a couple of shoots without pruning. Next summer there will be several single brushes with berries.

After two or three years you need to leave only 3-4.conveniently located and well-developed annuals escape. All the rest must be cut at the base of the bush. First, remove the weak, the sick, and the thickened. At the same time cut out the old branches, if they are damaged by pests or poorly developed. If the basal shoots form a bush weakly, you can stimulate their growth by cutting off one or two two-three-year branches, even if they bear fruit. The basic rule of pruning is to cut the branches at the very base.

Growth of the current year

Для садовода прирост текущего года – главный Indicator that it is time to pruning. If the shoots are weak and small (about 10 cm), you should go down the branch to the place where a strong top grows or a lot of rams. Now to this place you need to cut the top of the branch. The future harvest is influenced by the growth of the last year, it is there that the black currant bears fruit. Care in the spring begins with inspection of the branches: the fruiting part will be much lighter than the other branches.

The difference between the old and young stem

У старых стеблей серая кора, к тому же на старом there are almost no berries. This is especially noticeable in the spring: there are no floral brushes on the “elderly” 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 or six years, it is advisable to remove them, otherwise the yield of the bush will fall.

Rejuvenate the old bush. How to do it right

Immediately it is worth noting that if the shrub is alreadymore than 21-25 years old, should be uprooted and burned. Here no operations can help. However, if the bush is 15-18 years old, you can cut it to the base by about a third. When shoots of replacement appear, cut out all of them, except for the three strongest ones. The following year, cut another third of the oldest branches and again leave three new replacement sprouts. And in the third year, the remaining old stalks are cut out. It is undesirable to cut off the entire bush at once, although in exceptional cases it is possible.

If at your site not only the black berry grows, but also its red and white “sisters”, you should know that the options for pruning such shrubs are somewhat different.

We have already considered how to cut black currants in spring. However, in spring, red currant needs care. This shrub has some differences in pruning. Consider them in more detail.

How to cut red currants?

In general, the trimming technology is similar.However, in the red "relative" pinching the tops of the branches is not carried out. This shrub fruiting buds are located exactly on the apical parts of the branches of two and three years of age.