Redcurrant pruning in autumn

Redcurrant bushes are often found in household plots, however, blackcurrants are still undeservedly preferred. Although in terms of the content of many elements, red currant berries are richer. For example, they contain more iron, potassium, vitamin A and flavonoids. Many biologically active substances – coumarins, which reduce blood viscosity, do not allow blood clots to form.

Berries are easiest to pick on brushes and freeze in the refrigerator, and in winter, during colds, cook vitamin compotes and jelly. However, it often happens that red currant grows on the site, like an ornamental shrub, without giving a good harvest of berries, which would be enough for both food and harvesting.

Why cut currants

Red currant bushes can live in one place for up to 20 years. The plant prefers well-lit places with fertile light soils, without stagnant moisture. You can pick up 2-3 varieties that ripen at different times, and the family will be provided with berries from June to late autumn.

Caring for red currants is simple, the bushes are resistant to pests and diseases, they tolerate frosty winters well. Pruning red currants in autumn is an important agricultural technique that should be given special attention; after its implementation, the future vegetative season will bring many pleasant surprises to gardeners:

• The yield of berries will increase;
• The berries will become much larger;
• By removing the excessive thickening of the bush, all the branches of the currant will be illuminated by the sun. Berries will be tastier, and a lot of vitamins and microelements are formed in them;
• The bush will rejuvenate, it will look neater;
• It will become easier for gardeners to take care of the bush and carry out work around it;
• Autumn pruning promotes the growth of young shoots, from which new fruit-bearing shoots can be formed in the future.

Red currant pruning is carried out after the plant has shed its foliage and is preparing for the hibernation period. Approximate time – the second half of October. The bush can be cut in the spring, however, at this time it is more difficult to choose the right time before the start of sap flow and swelling of the kidneys. And in late autumn, gardeners have much more free time, and it is aimed at cleaning plant debris and its disposal.

Garden pruning tool

To trim a bush, you should arm yourself with the necessary garden tools, which must be well sharpened and disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate, Bordeaux liquid, alcohol or kerosene. Disinfection is necessary to prevent infection of healthy bushes with viruses, bacteria and fungi. After all, most often it is the diseased branches that are removed.

Required Tools:

• You will need a pruner. A well-sharpened pruner can easily cut branches of any diameter;

  

• A garden saw or hacksaw may be required to remove old and thick shoots. They have sharp teeth that will cut down the branch that the secateurs could not cope with;

  

• And another garden tool that you can have available, loppers. They have long arms. If the bush is very neglected, and there is no way to get into the middle, then you can stick a delimber in and cut off what you want with it.

  

With such garden helpers, any pruning job will be a joy, you can easily cope with any volume.

Rules for pruning red currants (+ video)

How to prune red currants in autumn? There are a few rules to follow:

• Equally important is the question of when to prune red currants? The best time is the end of September – the beginning of October. The foliage has already flown around, all the shoots that need to be cut are clearly visible. The plant is in sleep mode, painlessly endures all interventions;
• At the currant bush, young weakened branches are cut;
• It is mandatory to cut off those shoots that are damaged by diseases or insect pests;

  

• Do not take the principles of blackcurrant pruning as a guide to action. It won’t be right. Shrubs produce crops in different ways. The main part of the blackcurrant crop is formed on 1, 2, 3-year-old shoots. Therefore, branches older than 4 years are removed from blackcurrants, the remaining shoots are shortened for better branching, and some of the zero shoots are cut off;
• In red currant, the crop is formed on one-year-old shoots and on adult branches of 2-6 years of age. After 6-7 years of life, the yield of such branches drops significantly, so they should be completely cut off;

  

• It should be borne in mind that red currants form very few young shoots, so they are not cut off, but left to rejuvenate the bush;
• The upper part of the currant shoots is cut off only if it was damaged by aphids in the summer, as evidenced by the curvature of the shoot;
• When planting a young bush, immediately cut off all the shoots, leaving no more than 3 buds;
• In the next 6 years, pruning is carried out only for sanitary purposes. Cut dried, broken and diseased shoots. Such pruning does not have to be left until autumn. Branches are pruned as soon as damage is detected;
• At the 6-7th year of the life of the bush, shoots are pruned that are of the most advanced age (6 or more years);
• Cut off shoots whose growth is directed inside the bush and those that grow parallel to the ground;
• If the branches have grown very strongly, then their length can be reduced by a third;
• Sections should be treated with garden pitch or Bordeaux liquid so that no infection enters.

The currant bush, which has been properly pruned, bears fruit well and has about 20-25 branches of different ages.

Watch a detailed video on how to properly cut red currants:

It is recommended to collect and burn cut material, litter and foliage, as the threat of the spread of diseases from infected branches is too great. As a rule, larvae of insect pests, spores of bacteria and fungi overwinter in plant residues.

The bush may look quite healthy on the outside. Feel free to take a close look at it. Especially the cuts.

If you see that the core is dark, then this is a clear sign of defeat by a currant glass case – a pest butterfly. In spring, a wasp-like butterfly lays its eggs in cracks in the bark of a currant bush. After 2 weeks of eggs, caterpillars hatch, which penetrate the stem. They live and eat there. The black middle of the stem is the fruit of the activities of the caterpillars of the glass butterfly.

This pest is difficult to fight, as it spends its life inside the stem. Therefore, carefully inspect all cuttings before planting. In autumn and spring, cut off all affected shoots to the length where you see a light core. Preventive treatment with insecticides in the fall will also help in the fight against glass.

Another enemy of currants is a kidney mite. Its presence can be determined by large rounded kidneys. In autumn, they fight with it through pruning of damaged shoots and through spraying with colloidal sulfur. Sulfur treatment increases the immunity of the shrub against fungal infections.

If there is a need for planting material, then cuttings can be cut from scraps, 15-20 cm long for subsequent rooting. They are planted in a prepared place, mulched, with the beginning of the vegetative season, rooted specimens will dissolve the leaves.

Another way to get seedlings: select a branch of a bush that is inclined to the ground, dig a shallow trench under it, place a branch in it, securely fix it with staples, sprinkle with soil on top, and mulch with peat. In the spring, you will have a ready-made seedling of red currant, which should be cut off from the mother bush and transferred to plant in a permanent place of growth.

Caring for red currants in autumn

Currant bushes do not need special care in the autumn. However, if preventive measures are taken to protect the plant in the fall, then in the spring-summer period, many problems can be avoided.

Watch a video about autumn pruning and bush care:

After pruning and garbage collection, red currant bushes are treated for preventive purposes with a solution of Bordeaux liquid, Karbafos, urea, colloidal sulfur.

Under the crown of the bush, the soil is loosened and covered with mulch: peat or compost. They act both as a fertilizer and as a protection against excessive moisture loss, and prevent the growth of weeds in the next season.

It is carried out in order to compensate for the loss of moisture during the summer period. If the plant does not receive moisture in the required volume, then this will affect the formation of future flower buds. At a redcurrant bush, the near-trunk circle should be wetted 0,5 m deep. At the end of October, about 30 liters of water will be required for water-charging irrigation. Do not pour all the water at once under the bush, stretch the watering for about a week, spending about a bucket of water on watering at a time.

Conclusion

If you are interested in getting a decent harvest of very healthy berries, then caring for a redcurrant bush should be given some attention. Especially the plant needs the right autumn pruning, which will rejuvenate it, form the crown of the bush, and you will get large sweet berries saturated with sunlight.