Content
Rejuvenating a blackcurrant bush is not at all difficult if you adhere to the basic rules for pruning berry bushes. Timely and proper rejuvenation of plantings of this garden crop will not only improve their appearance, but will also increase productivity.
Why do you need rejuvenation of currant bushes?
Sooner or later, every gardener who grows black currants is faced with the need to rejuvenate old bushes. With age, the yield of the plant begins to gradually decrease, and the quality of the fruit invariably decreases every year.
Rejuvenation will be useful not only for old bushes, but also in cases where the plant has been severely damaged by disease or pest invasion, has a too thick or improperly formed crown, or if its roots are damaged. By removing excess shoots that shade the bush, impede its ventilation and take away the plant's strength, this procedure will return black currants to high yields, increase immunity to diseases and make it easier to care for the plantings.
When to update currant bushes
Trimming black currants is a mandatory event that must be carried out from the first season after planting. The basis of the correct crown of a bush of this crop is a shaping haircut. It is this that makes it much easier to care for the bush in the future and allows you to easily rejuvenate currants that have become old.
Rejuvenation of the bush begins at 5–6 years of age, since this garden crop bears fruit on young shoots that have reached the age of 2–3 years. If the bushes are very old, 15 years or more, their rejuvenation may take several seasons.
You can rejuvenate an old blackcurrant bush in spring or autumn. There is no consensus on which season is best for this. Many experienced gardeners insist that autumn pruning for rejuvenation purposes is preferable, since a harvest can be expected as early as next season. Autumn rejuvenation is carried out during leaf fall, before the onset of frost. If juice is released from the cut of the shoot, then the plant is not yet ready for the procedure. The main thing is to finish cutting before frost sets in. It will take 2-3 weeks for the cuts to heal. After this time, the currants will be ready for winter.
Rejuvenating black currants in autumn has the following advantages:
- allows you to prepare currants for wintering;
- activates the emergence of new branches;
- assumes a longer time interval for the procedure than in the spring;
- stimulates fruiting in the next season.
Spring rejuvenating pruning also has its advantages: it can be combined with sanitary pruning, during this period the plant is less susceptible to disease infection, and it is easier to distinguish affected shoots from healthy ones. The best period for carrying out the rejuvenation procedure is from the beginning of the snow melting to the beginning of the growing season.If you trim a bush in the spring, berries will appear on it only next year, and the plant will spend the current season restoring green mass.
How to rejuvenate an old currant bush
Rejuvenating haircuts are carried out in dry weather so that pathogenic spores contained in rainwater do not fall on fresh cuts. To carry out the procedure you will need: pruning shears, garden shears and a hacksaw. All tools must be well sharpened so as not to leave broken parts on the branches, which would further injure the plant. Before cutting each subsequent bush, the tools must be disinfected, for example, with a solution of potassium permanganate or alcohol. In order to prevent diseases, all plant residues after cutting must be burned.
There are several general rules and principles for rejuvenating a currant bush:
- it is necessary to regulate the growth of new shoots so that approximately the same number grows in each season;
- a shoot that produces weak growth must be trimmed, leaving no more than 5 buds. This helps to heal and strengthen the plant;
- the cut should be a few centimeters above the bud;
- you need to cut the branch at an angle of 45–50°;
- The number of branches that need to be cut depends on the strength of the bush. The better it is developed, the more branches it can have. On strong currant specimens, 12–14 shoots are left; on weak ones, 5 are enough;
- in order to get an even harvest from season to season, it is necessary that the bush has branches of different ages;
- Long stumps should not be left, as they can serve as a shelter for pests and become a source of infection of all plantings of this garden crop;
- It is recommended to treat sections with ash, garden pitch, charcoal or special preparations.
The main goal of bush rejuvenation is to achieve the appearance of new shoots growing from the underground part of the trunk. They are called "zero" shoots. They grow by cutting out a few old viable branches and regularly removing the spindle shoots (thin vertical shoots that form at the very base) on the remaining skeletal branches. Leave the 3 most developed “zero” branches so that fruiting on them is maximum. Finally, the ends of the shoots left for fruiting are shortened to wood.
In addition, when pruning, the following branches are removed:
- broken;
- directed inside the crown;
- lying on the ground;
- not yielding crops;
- weak.
If problems arise with determining the age of the shoots, you can use a simpler scheme that is understandable to inexperienced gardeners: remove a quarter of the bush every year. This way the plant will gradually renew itself and there will be no branches older than 4 years on it.
Radical pruning will help renew a very old blackcurrant bush. To do this, cut off all the branches at the root. If the procedure is carried out in the spring, the soil around the bush is treated with Fitosporin, and after 10–12 days an infusion of cow manure is added: 1 part mullein takes 10 parts water. During the season, such feeding is repeated several times. If the procedure is carried out in the fall, the cuts and tree trunk circles are mulched with grass, sawdust or straw.This method of rejuvenation activates the growing season of new shoots from the root buds; it should be remembered that the loss of a large amount of green mass is stress for the plant. It is not advisable to resort to radical pruning in order to rejuvenate black currants more than once, since the root system of the plant ages and over time loses the ability to form strong young shoots.
In a formed bush, the volume of the crown corresponds to the volume of the roots, but if radical pruning is done, the balance is upset and the root system becomes much stronger. As a result, the growth of new shoots is activated; no more than 5 of the most developed shoots should be left and the rest removed.
If you want to preserve a specimen of a currant variety, the bush of which can no longer be rejuvenated, you can use one of the vegetative methods of obtaining a young plant: cuttings or obtaining layering.
The technology for rejuvenating black currants using layering is simple:
- in March-April, young annual shoots growing at the bottom of the mother bush are selected;
- bend them to the ground, dig them in and water them during the season;
- the rooted cuttings can be planted at the beginning of next spring, and the place of the old bush can be prepared for planting a young plant.
If you need to rejuvenate a large number of bushes, they resort to a method known as “Michurinsky”:
- for the first 5 years after planting, only sanitary and formative pruning is done;
- in the 6th year, half of the bushes are radically cut off and fertilized;
- From the young plants that appear in the next season, half of the strongest and most developed are selected, and the remaining ones are uprooted and new cuttings are planted in their place;
- the same algorithm is repeated with the second half of adult currant bushes.
This method is suitable for industrial cultivation of black currants. Thanks to this method, plantings will always remain young, and the harvest will be stable and predictable.
Features of rejuvenation of red and black currants
Bushes of all types of currants need rejuvenation, however, there are differences in the procedure for the red and black varieties:
- black currants age earlier, and they begin to rejuvenate them from the age of 5;
- red currants need renewal from 8 years old;
- black currant forms fruits on shoots that are 2–3 years old; in red currants, branches that are 5–8 years old have the highest yield;
- In black currants, most of the fruits are formed on the central buds, in red currants - on the ends of the fruiting shoots.
Thus, all shoots of blackcurrant that are more than 5 years old are removed, shoots that are more than 3 years old are cut by a quarter, and one-year-old shoots by a third.
To rejuvenate the red currant bush, branches 8 years old and older are cut off, 10–12 growths are left on young shoots, and the crowns affected by aphids are removed.
Bush care after rejuvenation
Despite the fact that black currants tolerate pruning well, after the procedure the plant needs special care. The most important measures for caring for a bush after rejuvenation are fertilizing and watering.
First of all, weeds are removed around the currants and the plants are fed with nitrogen fertilizers.If pruning was done in the fall, then half a spoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate are added under the bush. After spring pruning, the currants are fed with nitroammophos, dissolving 1 tbsp. l. fertilizers in a bucket of water for irrigation.
The optimal way to deliver the necessary nutrients is mulching with humus.
Black currants are watered infrequently; usually one heavy watering every 20 days is enough.
Advice from experienced gardeners
Over the years of growing black currants, a lot of experience has been accumulated in rejuvenating plantings. Perhaps every experienced gardener has his own tricks in carrying out this procedure. It is useful to listen to time-tested advice:
- If, due to age, black currants have stopped bearing fruit well, you should not try to restore its yield by increasing the amount of fertilizing and watering. In this case, you cannot do without rejuvenating the bush;
- It is better to rejuvenate an old bush in several stages over 2-3 years, so as not to injure the plant too much;
- renewal of currant bushes begins with formative pruning of a young plant: already in the next season after planting, shoots are shortened in order to awaken dormant buds and get new branches. A bush of the correct shape is much easier to further rejuvenate;
- A good way to increase yield is by pinching shoots. It is done in mid-summer on young growths and “zero” shoots;
- Before rejuvenating blackcurrant pruning, you need to get rid of diseased, broken and frozen branches.
One of the biggest problems that beginners face when starting to rejuvenate blackcurrants is determining the age of the branches. Experienced gardeners always focus on the color of the shoot: the darker it is, the older it is.One-year-old shoots are covered with delicate, smooth light gray bark; in 2-year-old shoots the bark is thicker and rougher, and several lateral branches appear. The bark of older branches is rough, cracked, and has many shoots.
Conclusion
You can rejuvenate a blackcurrant bush in different ways, the main thing is to follow the rules and carry out the procedure regularly. Then this garden crop will delight you for many years with an abundant harvest of delicious, juicy berries.
