When to prune currants for rejuvenation?
Currant black benefit. The easy-to-grow blackcurrant easily finds its place in the garden. Its berries have a unique taste, their use is extremely beneficial for the human body. They contain many useful substances, the largest amount of vitamin C.
Even with proper care, currant bushes age quickly, five-year-old bushes already need rejuvenation. Blackcurrant pruning greatly affects the quantity and quality of fruits, because they appear on young branches. Young annual shoots are the most productive.
The productivity of blackcurrant bushes can be maintained up to 10-12 years of age. They bear fruit in the second or third year after planting, increasing the yield until the fifth or sixth year, and remaining at the same level for the next 3-4 years, and then sharply decreases.
Productivity of blackcurrant bushes
Left without pruning, blackcurrant bushes become very dense, give a weak growth of young strong branches.
The desire to uproot and plant young bushes is not a popular idea. At the same time, popular varieties may be lost, money spent on seedlings, time until young bushes begin to actively bear fruit. The best solution to this problem is to rejuvenate old blackcurrants to increase yields, prevent diseases and for a visually beautiful crown.
Note! Currant every year will produce a crop of large berries only with regular care by pruning. As the ventilation and illumination of the middle part of the bush improves, the properties of the berries will return to their previous level.
Old currant bush, what to do with it? After pruning, blackcurrants will give strong sprouts, and new, well-bearing bushes can be grown from it. To do this, cut off all the weak and thin shoots that grow from the underground part of the trunk.
Rejuvenation of old black currant
The regrowth of the so-called “zero” shoots is the goal of rejuvenating the bush. After a new growth in the following year, strong eight shoots are left, which form the basic structure of a new or newly created plant.
When to renew currant bushes: in spring or autumn?
Blackcurrant old bushes are important to cut at the right time of the year. Pruning in early autumn and spring is preferred. How to rejuvenate an old currant bush in autumn? This gives the blackcurrant enough time to gain strength, recover and form new berry branches until next year. Do not wait for the leaves to fall completely. It is enough that half of them turn yellow. The leaves may remain on the branch until frost. The plant is susceptible to frost if pruned too late in the fall.
If you do not have time to prune in the fall, prune in the spring. The coming spring is also the right time. However, you need to know that there will be no more frosts. In spring, in addition to temperature, it should also be taken into account that cutting is done before active sap flow begins. Spring pruning has the advantage that affected shoots are clearly visible and should be removed first.
Pruning in autumn stimulates fruiting in the next season, in spring – berries will appear only next year
How to rejuvenate blackcurrant correctly
Anti-aging pruning consists of removing old skeletal branches that will no longer bear fruit. Pruning has a rejuvenating effect on the shrub. For this, old (dark) skeletal branches without young side shoots are cut at ground level.
General rules on how to rejuvenate a blackcurrant bush:
- the stems are cut at an angle of 45–50 °;
- the number of branches is 12-14 for strong bushes, 5 for weak ones;
- it is necessary to leave branches of different ages on the bush in order to have a uniform harvest from season to season;
- after trimming, the hemp is left for a short time so that pests do not start in them:
- slices are recommended to be treated with special preparations or ash, charcoal.
Branches that have been growing for 4 years are cut off and replaced with strong annual growths. By removing old shoots, young ones get more nutrients.
Annual branches, if they overload the bush, are removed. Extra stems shade the plant, prevent its ventilation and take strength. It is also necessary to get rid of diseased, broken and frozen branches. By removing them, you can return crops, increase immunity to diseases and facilitate planting care. Thus, the removal of unnecessary stems has a healing effect and strengthens the plant.
After rejuvenating pruning, the currant bush should consist of old skeletal branches with young side shoots. Young lower shoots should be kept.
Additional Information! When the blackcurrant bushes have ceased to produce a crop, you should not immediately uproot them. Rejuvenation can restore their productivity for several years. Even a very old bush can quickly grow new shoots.
The fruits are best on young wood, so old wood needs to be cleaned every year. An overgrown blackcurrant bush should not be radically rejuvenated in one year, but should be divided into two or three years in a row. This will keep the plant productive.
Starting to revive the currant, you need to determine the age of the branches. In order not to cut the wrong shoots, it is important to understand which shoots are young and which are old. It is relatively easy to determine the age of shoots by their color. Young shoots are usually light, and old ones are dark. It is thicker than young stems, so they are easy to spot. The bark of old branches is rough, cracked, with numerous shoots.
All cuts should be directed outward, which will allow new shoots to grow not inward. A new shoot emerges from the bud and grows in the same direction as the bud.
Bush care after rejuvenation
It is important to care for blackcurrants after cutting, especially if there have been injuries. Despite the fact that currants tolerate pruning well, after the procedure, the plant needs special care. In the first year after such pruning, the bush restores strength, and the next year it will please with a harvest.
Fungi, bacteria, and other diseases and pests can more easily enter open wounds on a plant. This will affect next year’s harvest and may even kill the plant. The injury should be treated with a special tool. There are many products that help heal injuries faster and protect the plant from disease.
The most important measures for caring for a bush after rejuvenation are top dressing and watering. It is important to remove weeds and fertilize the soil, mulch the soil with humus.
Xcurrant care after rejuvenation
]Fertilize with complex fertilizers in the fall and nitrogen fertilizers in the spring. Currants are watered infrequently (about three times a week), but plentifully.
Updating a hive without errors, necessary tools
Anti-aging pruning can be done not only by a professional, but nevertheless, some aspects must be taken into account. Some mistakes can be made that lead to a significant deterioration in the yield of the plant. Pruning will not harm the currant, it will only get stronger, but mistakes are still possible. So that all rejuvenation work does not come to naught, it is necessary to disinfect garden tools.
Note! Currant wood has a hollow center through which the bush becomes infected with various diseases and pests, so a 2 cm stump of healthy wood is left. Currant bushes can be rejuvenated by cutting the entire bush completely above the ground and growing new shoots.
The haircut is carried out in dry weather so that the pathogenic 0 contained in rainwater does not fall on fresh cuts. Most importantly, a good tool. Depending on the thickness of the shoots and branches of the plant, suitable secateurs, garden shears, and a hacksaw will be required. All tools must be well sharpened so as not to further injure the plant.
Necessary tool
Before pruning each subsequent bush, tools must be disinfected with a special or alcohol-containing agent. One of the plants may become ill without noticing, and the use of infected scissors may lead to infection of other plants. To prevent diseases, all plant residues after mowing must be burned.
The main thing is to remove the old currant shoots, and thereby rejuvenate the plant. The main goal of rejuvenating bushes is to achieve the appearance of new shoots growing from the underground part of the trunk.
