How to propagate gooseberries by cuttings, layering: spring, summer, autumn, video, instructions and rules for cuttings

You can propagate gooseberries with green cuttings in the summer without much effort if you know the basic rules of the procedure. Garden fruit shrubs lend themselves very well to propagation; in several different ways you can significantly increase its number on the site.

How do gooseberries reproduce?

Gooseberries are a very popular garden crop for cultivation.With proper care, the shrub bears abundant, tasty fruits and reproduces very easily, so gardeners usually plant the plant densely on the site, using proven propagation methods.

Gooseberries can be propagated in several ways.

• By seed method - It is not difficult to propagate a plant from seeds, but the method is not very popular. The fact is that the characteristics of the mother variety are not preserved in the new bush.
• By cuttings - Both green and lignified cuttings are used for rooting. The method is most popular among gardeners, since it practically guarantees the successful rooting of a new plant.
• Dividing the bush - this method makes it possible to propagate overgrown shrubs throughout the area.
• By layering - long flexible shoots of gooseberries are well suited for horizontal or apical rooting in the ground near the mother bush.

Gooseberries can be propagated by suckers at the roots and by grafting. The choice of a specific method depends only on your own preferences and some external conditions.

When is it better to propagate gooseberries: spring, summer or autumn

Gooseberries can be propagated throughout the warm season. The choice of timing directly depends on the method by which it was decided to propagate the shrub.

• It is more convenient to propagate gooseberries by layering in late spring or summer, at the height of the growing season.
• Gooseberries can be propagated by dividing the bush in spring or autumn. In the spring, you need to divide a large bush before the plant begins to actively grow green mass, and in the fall you need to have time to divide it from the beginning of September to the beginning of October.
• Gooseberry cuttings are carried out at the beginning of summer, from the first days of June until July.
• Gooseberries can be propagated by root suckers in the fall, after all the main work has been completed and the harvest has been harvested. The ideal time is the beginning of October, when there are still 2-3 weeks left before the first frost.

If you decide to propagate gooseberries by seeds, then they are collected during the fruiting period, sown in closed containers with the onset of cold weather and kept in a cool place throughout the winter. Gooseberries obtained by seed are transplanted into the soil in the spring; usually containers with seedlings are transferred into the soil no earlier than April.

How to propagate gooseberries from cuttings

The easiest way to propagate fruit shrubs is by cuttings, since almost any plant variety demonstrates good rooting.

• The highest rooting rate is found in American-European hybrid varieties, such as Russian, Orlyonok, and Medovy - up to 90%.
• Lower rates are demonstrated by open-pollinated European varieties - Timiryazevsky and Granatovy, Slavyansky and Muskatny - on average 30-50%.
• The worst varieties to propagate by cuttings are the European varieties Triumfalny, Brazilian and Varshavsky.

If you decide to propagate the plant with green shoots, then the best time for rooting them will be summer; if the shoots are lignified, then autumn. It is recommended to propagate shrubs by cuttings in closed home containers; you can also use greenhouses with high temperatures and high levels of humidity. The process looks quite simple - first the shoots are kept in water with the addition of a stimulating solution, and then they are buried in the soil and wait for the first roots to appear.

The advantage of the method is, first of all, that it is very easy to obtain planting material if there is at least 1 gooseberry bush on the site. Gardeners are almost unlimited in the timing of the procedure, and besides, cuttings are one way or another familiar to summer residents and rarely cause difficulties.

Recommended timing

If green young shoots are taken from cuttings to propagate gooseberries in the spring, then they are harvested at the end of spring, while the branches have not yet had time to become covered with strong bark. Lignified shoots are cut both in spring and autumn; in the first case this should be done in April, and in the second in mid-October.

Preparation of green and woody cuttings

When harvesting shoots, the main rule must be observed - the material for gooseberry propagation must be healthy and strong.

• If you need to propagate gooseberries with green shoots, then in the summer, in June or early July, several young branches from 8 to 15 cm long are cut from an adult bush. It is best to take the apical branches; they take root faster, and harvesting is best done on a cloudy day and early in the morning.
• If in order to propagate gooseberries, woody shoots are needed, then they are cut in the fall in September-October. The length of the branch should also be from 8 to 15 cm, and cuttings from the upper part of the shoot take root much better and faster than from the lower part.

In order for the cut shoots to remain healthy, it is recommended to treat them immediately after harvesting with a weak solution of potassium permanganate - this will prevent rotting.

Selection of containers and soil preparation

It is best to root cuttings in small pots at home. At the bottom of the pot it is necessary to arrange good drainage from expanded clay, small stones or broken bricks. It is not recommended to use a pot that is too large for escaping. The soil in it may turn sour; if necessary, it is better to transplant the grown seedling into a larger container.

The soil for gooseberries should be loose, nutritious and well-moistened. Usually sand, peat and fertile soil are mixed in equal proportions; in such conditions, the shoot takes root most quickly.

Propagation of gooseberries by green cuttings

Before planting in the ground, it is recommended to keep green shoots for 24 hours in a solution that stimulates root growth, so they will take root more quickly. In the video of gooseberry propagation by cuttings in the summer, you can see that the further algorithm looks like this:

• the prepared planting material is buried in the soil in pots so that a pair of buds remain above the surface of the ground;
• water the shoots properly, and then immediately cover the pot with a glass cap or plastic wrap - this will maintain the required humidity;
• the constant temperature in the room with the shoots should be at 23 °C during the day and at least 16-18 °C at night;
• under the film or cap the temperature should not rise above 25 ° C, otherwise the cuttings may rot; to avoid this, the film must be regularly lifted and the plants ventilated.

If you follow all the rules for propagating gooseberries using green cuttings in the summer, the plant will give its first roots within 2 weeks, and in the fall it can be transplanted outdoors.

Propagation of gooseberries by woody cuttings

If lignified shoots are used, then propagation of gooseberries by cuttings is used in the fall. True, it should be noted that cuttings are cut in October, and then cultivation begins traditionally in early spring. Therefore, throughout the winter, cuttings must be stored correctly; after harvesting, they are kept for a day in a growth stimulator, then wrapped in a damp cloth, packaged in a plastic bag and sent to the refrigerator. During the winter, the fabric is re-moistened from time to time; the bag must be kept open so that the humidity remains at the desired level.

With the onset of spring, the cuttings are rooted in prepared containers in soil consisting of fertile soil, sand and peat. The material is buried at an angle of 45 °, 2-3 buds should remain above the surface of the earth. Immediately after planting, the cuttings should be watered and the pot should be covered with film or a glass cap, and 2 weeks after the first roots form, the film should be removed and then carry out normal care.

How to root gooseberry cuttings in water in spring

Propagation of gooseberries by cuttings in spring in water is usually used for woody shoots, this stimulates them to grow faster. At the end of February or March, the cuttings must be installed in narrow containers filled with clean, soft water and left in a room with a temperature of at least 23 ° C.

Soon, vegetative processes begin on the cuttings, and young leaves appear in the upper part of the shoot, and roots appear in the lower part.To propagate the plant faster, you can soak the shoots in a growth stimulator for an additional day, and only then transfer them to ordinary clean water. As the water evaporates, it is not necessary to change it entirely; you can simply add fresh water as needed.

Growing and transplanting to a permanent place

It will take several weeks to propagate the plant by cuttings, after which the young shoots will actively begin to grow. Since cuttings are usually transferred to the ground in June or early July, in order to successfully propagate them, the shoots will have to be grown in pots throughout the spring. This is quite simple to do - after the film is removed from the pot, the soil will need to be moistened as it dries, and the pots themselves will need to be kept in a well-lit, warm place.

To plant in open ground, you need to select a sunny, open area located not far from any building or fence - gooseberries need shelter from the wind. The area should not be excessively wet; if groundwater passes nearby, you will have to first take care of creating high-quality drainage.

• Planting holes for seedlings are dug 3 weeks before planting; in terms of dimensions, they should be about half a meter deep and the same in diameter.
• If you plan to propagate gooseberries abundantly and plant several bushes at once, you should leave 1 m of space between them and 2 m between rows of bushes.
• The soil for gooseberries in open ground must be fertile - it is recommended to mix the soil from the site with 10-15 kg of humus or compost. You also need to add phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to the soil.

It is better to plant gooseberry bushes obtained by cuttings in a checkerboard pattern so that they do not subsequently shade each other’s light. Immediately after planting, the seedlings need to be watered and the soil in the tree trunk circle should be mulched in a dense layer of 5 cm.

How to propagate gooseberries by layering

It is best to propagate European gooseberry varieties by layering, which are not very readily amenable to cuttings. The procedure should be carried out in late spring or summer, when the gooseberries are in a state of active vegetation.

The main advantage of layering is that they allow you to propagate gooseberries immediately in open ground, without transplanting from a closed container. In addition, the instructions for vegetative propagation by layering of a gooseberry bush are very simple.

Propagation of gooseberries by apical layering

For apical layering, in the spring of gooseberries you need to pinch several young shoots about 45 cm long so that they give new lateral shoots, and then pinch them too. It is necessary to increase potential layering on gooseberries in this way until mid-summer.

In July, the selected apical shoots will need to be bent to the ground and a groove 10 cm deep must be dug in the place where the tops touch the ground. The tops of the shoots are placed in the ground and secured with wire or staples. Then you need to dig up the gooseberries for propagation and water them generously.

You don’t need to do anything special, you just need to regularly water the cuttings along with the main bush. After about 3 weeks, new shoots will appear from the soil, and in mid-autumn they can be carefully dug up and transplanted to a permanent place.

How to propagate gooseberries by horizontal layering

Vegetative propagation by layering of a gooseberry bush using the horizontal method is a simple process. The algorithm looks like this:

• in early or mid-summer, select several young shoots up to 3 years old, located close to the ground;
• On each branch, fresh growth is shortened by about a third - this stimulates the growth of lateral buds;
• the shoots are bent to the soil and laid horizontally in shallow trenches, and then secured with wire in several places and covered with earth.

Immediately after this, the cuttings need to be watered and mulched; after a couple of weeks, complex fertilizers can be applied. After the sprouts appear from the ground, they can be hilled up a little, and after another 2 weeks the hilling can be repeated. With proper care, the cuttings will develop strong roots by autumn; in October they can be separated from the mother bush and moved to a new location.

Gooseberry propagation by dividing the bush

When dividing the bush, almost all varieties of gooseberries take root well, and hybrid American-European varieties take root the fastest. It is recommended to use division for especially valuable varieties - the fact is that gooseberries can be propagated in the fall in this way without loss of varietal characteristics.

Bushes that have reached 2 years or more are suitable for division, and gooseberries are propagated in the fall - in October and November.

It is very simple to propagate a plant by dividing the bush; for this you need:

• carefully dig a gooseberry bush out of the ground;
• Using a sharpened shovel, divide its rhizome into several parts;
• disinfect the sections, and then transfer the sections to new places and plant them in prepared holes according to the standard algorithm.

Each division should have several intact strong roots and 2-3 well-developed shoots. The advantages of the method are that there is no need to waste time rooting the plant from scratch; the gooseberry already has roots. With proper care, the bushes take root in new places very quickly.

How to propagate gooseberries by offspring

Both European and American varieties can be propagated using suckers or root shoots that grow naturally around the bush.

It is recommended to propagate gooseberries by offspring in the fall, after fruiting. Young shoots in the roots of plants must be carefully separated from the main bush and transferred to a new location in previously prepared holes. The shoots are planted directly into the ground; it is not necessary to pre-root the shoots in pots.

The advantages of the method are that gooseberries can be propagated in this way quickly and without the additional hassle associated with cutting and rooting cuttings.

Is it possible to propagate gooseberries from seeds?

Any varieties of gooseberries can be propagated by seeds collected from the fruits of the plant. However, in practice this method is rarely used. Despite the fact that seed propagation is quite easy, and the planting material does not even need to be additionally prepared, the method has its drawbacks. First of all, after seed propagation, gooseberries do not retain varietal characteristics; this method can only develop a new variety.In addition, the first fruiting of the bush occurs only after several years.

To propagate gooseberries by seeds, you need:

• collect ripe berries in July-August and remove the seeds from them;
• Dry the seeds for several days, and then immediately sow them in small pots filled with sand, humus and fertile soil in equal proportions;
• water the seedlings and cover them with film, then put them in a cool place with a temperature of up to 5 degrees.

It is necessary to keep the seedlings cool, regularly moistening them until spring. After warm weather sets in, the pots are taken out into the garden and buried entirely in a temporary area - there is no need to remove the earthen ball from the pots. After the first gooseberry shoots produce 2 leaves, the seedlings can be picked and transferred to a permanent place.

Is it possible to propagate gooseberries by grafting?

In rare cases, it is advisable to propagate gooseberries by grafting - under favorable circumstances, this allows you to grow the bush on a strong trunk, improve the decorative appearance of the plant and increase the size of the fruits. True, the method also has disadvantages - the yield of grafted gooseberries is usually low, the plant has to be cared for more carefully, and the health of the gooseberry depends on the stem.

Grafting is carried out on fruit bushes, less often on trees. Mostly currants, sometimes plums or even rowan berries are used as a rootstock.

The grafting is carried out as follows: a wedge-shaped cut is made on the scion, and the same split is made on the rootstock, the plants are combined with each other and secured with a bandage.As the shoots on the grafted gooseberry grow, they will need to be pinched to obtain a dense crown, and young shoots on the rootstock must be promptly removed.

How can you propagate gooseberries without thorns?

Selected varieties of thornless gooseberries are very popular; it is easier to harvest from such a bush. You can propagate gooseberries without thorns using all standard methods, but cuttings bring the best results. In the process of growing a thornless plant, it is especially important to monitor the fertility of the soil and often feed the shrub with organic matter and mineral fertilizers.

Conclusion

You can propagate gooseberries using green cuttings in the summer quickly and without unnecessary problems. There are also many other ways to grow shrubs. Which one to choose depends on the time of year, the gooseberry variety and the personal preferences of the gardener.

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