Autumn gardening, including pruning currants in the fall, are characterized by the preparation of plants for the winter period, which lays the success of a good harvest in the new season. Novice gardeners do not always take into account the peculiarities of caretherefore, some crops show a decrease in fruiting.
What is currant pruning for?
Currants are a prime example. The plant, unpretentious at first sight, develops intensively after planting a young shoot, pleasing the eyes of the owners with gaining power.
However, after a few years, you can notice a decrease in yield, while the bush becomes bulky and shapeless. This is primarily due to the lack of trimming.
Old dried branches interfere with the formation of new fruiting shoots. With proper care, the currant bush prolongs the life cycle by 4-6 times, giving the owners a generous harvest every new season.
Pruning berry bushes is required also to achieve the following results:
- removal of branches affected by pests or fungi;
- increasing the number and size of berries;
- optimization of the feeding process (so that old or weak shoots do not pull on valuable substances);
- bush formation.
For novice gardeners, this process may seem complicated, but learning the rules of cropping is actually quite easy.
When to prune bushes?
Regardless of the variety of currants pruning must be done annually... The best time for the procedure is autumn, when the currants shed their foliage.
Autumn procedure has the following advantages:
- sanitization (this is an effective method of combating diseases and insects);
- the plant does not react so painfully to pruning, does not emit juice;
- the opportunity to form and rejuvenate garden culture.
Light cleaning is carried out in spring currants from frozen and broken shoots. The advantage of the spring procedure is to stimulate the growth of new shoots, which will begin to bear fruit as early as next season.
Pruning is best done before budding, when the plant is dormant. In this case, the temperature indicators should be stably positive.
If you neglect these rules, then juice will be released from the cut sites, which depletes the plant. The likelihood of infection with fungus or other diseases will also increase. Instead of a full-fledged vegetative function, currants will spend energy on recovery.
Correct pruning of black currants is the key to a large harvest:
How to carry out the procedure: tips for novice gardeners
Before boarding
Currants should be planted about 3 weeks before the onset of frost... From this moment, care begins, which has a beneficial effect on the formation of the plant.
Before planting a seedling, you need to cut off the tops of all shoots... On each branch, 2-3 buds should be left. After the first season, the bush will acquire an average of five new shoots.
For the purpose of rejuvenation
Rejuvenation of 5-6 year old bush is carried out in order to extend the life cycle of the currant.
The procedure involves the complete removal of old branches under the very ground, together with tops (young shoots growing from the base of the old pagon).
At the same time drooping and broken parts of the bush are cutaffected by diseases or pests. The tops are removed from the shoots of the last year, and 3-5 more promising ones are chosen from the new ones.
You cannot cut off a branch near the bud itself, this can destroy the entire process.
Unusual ways
There are several technologies for cutting currants. Novice gardeners are encouraged to try the Michurinsky methodwhich provides good yields on large plantations.
The essence of the method consists in the following rules:
- after planting the seedlings, the currants are not pruned for 5 years;
- after 5 years, half of the bushes are cut off at the root (in the future they need to be carefully fed);
- a year later, about 20 of the grown sprouts are left, the rest are removed;
- a year later, similar actions are carried out with the other half of the bushes;
- after uprooting old plants, the site is planted with new shoots.
It also happens that the bush is not yet so old, but fruiting has dropped sharply. In this case, it is advisable apply radical pruning method... It consists in completely removing pagons from the plant, not reaching the base of only 3 cm.
After processing the cut line with garden pitch, the root system should be abundantly enriched with fertilizers and the stump should be covered with soil. Sometimes gardeners change the soil around the bush, diluting it before backfilling with humus.
After harvest
Experienced gardeners have long used summer pruning., motivating their actions with the following advantages:
- excess sunlight has a positive effect on the process of photosynthesis of young shoots;
- the growth rate of internal branches is equal to the indicators of lateral processes, which forms a beautiful bush shape;
- the risks of fungal infections are reduced to zero.
Summer procedures should be abandoned if the plant shows impaired growth.
How to properly cut black currants in the fall: scheme and stages
In late autumn, before the onset of cold weather, the plant goes into a state of dormancy.
When planning the removal of branches, remember that some of them can be damaged in the winter. The job is easier to complete if you adhere to a certain sequence.
Sanitary pruning (1st stage):
- cleanse the plant of dry branches and leaves;
- remove shoots that did not have time to ripen (they will freeze in winter);
- cut off the intertwining branches growing from the center and lying on the ground;
- get rid of the affected and deformed processes.
Bush rejuvenation (2nd stage):
- cut off branches over 5 years old (black variety) and 8 years old (red and white varieties);
- shorten annual shoots by a third;
- on a well-formed plant, you can cut pagons older than 3 years.
Bush maintenance (3rd stage): This type of trimming is performed when there is too much thickness.
As a rule, the central branches are removed to brighten the plant. With a sufficient number of fruiting pagons, shoots that have grown in the current season can be removed.
If the bush is running and has not been previously processed, you should not thin it out too much. The plant may not be able to handle a lot of shoot loss.
Features for white and red
Bushes of white and red currants are cut in a slightly different wayrather than the black variety. The most suitable time for the procedure is early spring or summer after the end of fruiting.
Regarding the formation of the bush, the rules remain the same, but you do not need to pinch the tops of last year's shoots. It is also not worth shortening the twigs of 2-3 years old.
The life cycle of white and red currants is longer than that of black currants. therefore old branches are those that have reached 7-8 years of age.
Old and pest-affected shoots, excess young shoots are subject to pruning. Ideally, 6-8 skeletal branches should remain after the procedure.
Processing, pruning and shaping a bush of red and white currants:
When caring for currants, it is important not to overdo it. with removal of pagons. Improper processing will not bring benefits, but it can destroy the plant.