Every gardener dreams of growing only the best varieties of currants on his plot in order to be able to harvest an excellent harvest during the season. Today we will talk about such an unpretentious and prolific type of shrub as golden currant. You will learn about its features, description, agricultural conditions for normal growth in the regions of our country from this article.
Description
North America is rightfully considered the birthplace of currants of this variety. Currant appeared on the territory of our country at the beginning of the 19th century. At that time, I.V. Michurin. In one of the issues of the magazine, popular in those years, called “Garden and Garden of the Central Chernobyl Region”, he writes that he managed to breed excellent new large-fruited hybrid varieties of golden currant.
If we talk about the description of such a currant, which can easily grow on almost any type of soil – both on light sandy, loamy and heavy loamy soils – then it is an outwardly tall shrub that can grow up to 2 – 2 meters.
Golden currant got its name due to the presence of characteristic golden-yellow flowers, which have a pleasant and fairly pronounced aroma, which are in the brushes of 5 – 7 pieces. The flowering period of this shrub, unlike blackcurrant, falls on later dates, namely the end of May – the beginning of June, and is also longer – up to 15 – 20 days. Thanks to this, the flowers get an excellent opportunity not only to be pollinated normally by bumblebees, but also to avoid frost damage, and as a result, you get a guaranteed rich harvest.
Experts advise for good fruiting to have at least 3 – 4 bushes in your garden. An interesting fact is that even the berries that grow on one bush of a certain variety of this currant can acquire a different color during ripening, which varies from golden yellow to dark cherry. They have a sweet and sour exquisite taste, and the size of the berries can be from 4 to 15 mm in diameter. Their ripening time is quite extended, therefore, already fully ripe berries, when overripe, are able to burst.
After pollination of flowers, as the ovary grows, the corolla disappears, and the berries eventually grow with an interesting tail. Since they are not acidic, they are even recommended for use by ulcer patients. Such berries contain a lot of vitamin A, that is, carotene, even more than in sweet peppers or apricots. And they have more vitamin C than in red currants or gooseberries, but three times less than in black currants.
If we talk about the yield of different varieties of golden currant, including the famous beautiful variety Venus, then it is very high and stable. From a bush that has reached the age of 5 – 7 years, you can collect from 8 to 10 kg of delicious beautiful berries in a season. In Our Country, all varieties of this currant, including Venus, are considered quite exotic compared to blackcurrant. But they are a real discovery and are perfect for planting on a personal plot, even by novice gardeners, because they have many advantages.
Such shrubs have a good degree of frost resistance, are able to grow normally and fully develop even in harsh winters, they also easily tolerate shading, do not impose special requirements on any type of soil, are attractive to hornets and bees, due to which they are well pollinated, have very extended ripening period, which makes it possible to collect a high yield of berries, unpretentious care, which makes it easier for beginners and experienced gardeners to care for this crop.
Cultivation
Reproduction of golden currant is possible in several ways – by sowing seeds, dividing the bush, planting cuttings of green and lignified branches, layering or annual shoots (akin to raspberries). The most time-consuming is considered to be the reproduction of this type of currant by growing seedlings. When choosing this method, varietal characteristics are practically not preserved. And the resulting fruit crops are good rootstocks for varietal forms of golden, black, white, red currant, yoshta and gooseberry. If we talk about sowing seeds of various varieties, then it is advised to carry out before winter or with the advent of spring.
Before planting in the spring, the seeds will need to be pre-stratified for about three months, using a freezer for this purpose. When the time comes to plant the seeds in the ground, they will be placed in a container, where there will already be nutrient soil disinfected with the help of special preparations, after which they will be kept in a warm room with normal lighting. After a couple of weeks, you will be able to see the first shoots, which will require minimal care. When the seedlings have about 4 full leaves, they are dived and placed in a shaded place. You should know that one-year-old seedlings planted in your backyard are able to bear fruit the next year, but varietal ones – only after three or four.
It is recommended to plant seedlings in spring or autumn, the main thing is to do this long before the first frost is expected. The growing season for this plant usually lasts from mid-April to mid-September. The optimal time for planting seedlings is the time before or after the end of sap flow. But those seedlings that you buy in special nurseries in pots, with closed roots, can be planted in the ground at almost any period that fits into the spring-autumn period. It is customary to plant seedlings according to a proven scheme of 120 by 250 cm.
Since this culture has a tendency to cross-pollinate, then, as mentioned above, in the garden it is advised to jointly plant several varieties at once. Immediately before planting in the soil, seedlings should be inspected for mechanical damage, after which they need to shorten their shoots, leaving about three buds. Then the roots are soaked in a clay solution and planted in a prepared pit, the volume of which for a one-year-old seedling should be 60 by 60 by 60 cm. A bucket of rotted compost, 5 glasses of wood ash and potassium phosphorus fertilizers are also brought into the pit.
Since this type of currant tends to branch well, many gardeners use this to grow it in a standard form. If you regularly remove the shoots, leaving only one branch, then you can form an unusual tree out of it, the length of which can be about three meters. And in the event that red, white or black currants are grafted onto such a branch, then these shrubs can also be grown in standard form. The resulting plant will differ not only in durability and good health, but will also please its owner with larger berries.
The golden currant subspecies loves the presence of light, and its fruits will be larger and juicier if such a shrub is grown in open, sunny places.
Given the deep penetration of the roots into the ground, a site with a low location of groundwater is preferable. Currant is resistant to pests and diseases, as well as pathogens and gas pollution, which allows it to fully grow and develop even when your backyard is located in close proximity to any route or enterprise. In the regions of our country, it is customary to grow golden currant not only as a fruit shrub, but also as an ornamental plant. Because her bushes remain very beautiful from spring to autumn. Their arcuate branches are decorated with golden flowers for three weeks, exuding a wonderful aroma in spring, shiny berries can be seen on them in summer, and with the advent of autumn, you can enjoy the view of crimson foliage.
Video “Care and cultivation”
Care
Even a gardener who does not have in-depth knowledge and sufficient practical experience in this area can easily carry out measures to care for the golden currant growing on the site. Proper care of golden currants includes not only sufficient regular watering, but also pruning and fertilizing.
The methods of pruning and shaping the bushes here are somewhat different from those used when caring for black and red currants. Since the main crop traditionally appears on 3-4-year-old wood, pruning should be carried out taking into account this feature. If you carry out a thorough pruning in the very first year after planting the shrub in the soil, and also make a planting with a strong inclination of the plant, then as a result you can get a bush with a fairly wide base. Therefore, experts and experienced gardeners advise in the first year to still do without pruning. Only in the second year is it recommended to remove weak root shoots in order to enable viable shoots to fully grow and develop.
To achieve better branching, the shoots need to be shortened by about a third of the length. For the third year, it is recommended to leave last year’s branches, and also not to remove about 3 – 6 of the most viable annual shoots. A fully well-formed 4-year-old shrub should ideally have up to 35 branches of various ages. Later, you need to carry out sanitary pruning in order to provide the bush with good conditions for ventilation and normal access to light. To do this, weak drooping branches will need to be made smaller in the place where the bend into the side branch occurs. As a rule, it is located slightly above the cropping point. Golden currant is considered among gardeners to be a very grateful fruit crop, since, in addition to pruning, it requires regular moderate watering, as well as double feeding before the onset of fruiting.
Video “All about the golden currant”
From the video of the decorative fruit guide, you will find out what are the standards for caring for this variety of currant.
