Content
Rejuvenating a black currant bush is not at all difficult if you adhere to the basic rules for pruning berry bushes. Timely and correct rejuvenation of the plantings of this garden culture will not only improve their appearance, but also increase yields.
Why do you need rejuvenation of currant bushes
Sooner or later, every blackcurrant grower is faced with the need to rejuvenate old bushes. With age, the yield of the plant begins to gradually decline, and the quality of the fruits 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 infestation, has a too dense or improperly formed crown, if its roots are damaged. By removing excess shoots that obscure the bush, impede its ventilation and take away the strength of the plant, this procedure will return high yields to black currants, increase immunity to diseases and facilitate planting maintenance.
When to update currant bushes
Cutting black currants is a mandatory event that must be carried out from the first season after planting. The basis of the correct crown of the bush of this culture is a shaping haircut. It is she who in the future significantly facilitates the care of the bush and allows you to rejuvenate the old currant without problems.
Rejuvenation of the shrub begins to produce at 5-6 years of age, since this garden culture bears fruit on young shoots that have reached the age of 2-3 years. If the bushes are very old, 15 or more years old, their rejuvenation may take several seasons.
You can rejuvenate an old black currant 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 is preferable, since harvest can be expected in the next season. Autumn rejuvenation is carried out during the fall of leaves, before the onset of frost. If juice is released on the cut of the shoot, then the plant is not yet ready for the procedure. The main thing is to finish the haircut before the onset of frost. It will take 2-3 weeks for the slices to heal. After this time, the currants will be ready for winter.
Rejuvenating black currant in the fall has the following benefits:
- allows you to prepare currants for wintering;
- activates the appearance of new branches;
- suggests a longer time interval for the procedure than in spring;
- stimulates fruiting in the next season.
Spring rejuvenating haircut also has its advantages: it can be combined with sanitary pruning, during this period the plant is less susceptible to infection with diseases, it is easier to distinguish affected shoots from healthy ones. The best period for the rejuvenation procedure is from the beginning of snow melting to the beginning of the growing season. If you cut the bush in the spring, the berries will appear on it only next year, and the plant will spend the current season on restoring green mass.
How to rejuvenate an old currant bush
A rejuvenating haircut is carried out in dry weather so that pathogenic spores contained in rainwater do not get on fresh cuts. For the procedure you will need: pruning shears, garden shears and a hacksaw.All tools must be well sharpened so as not to leave scraps on the branches, which additionally injure the plant. Before cutting each next 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 a haircut must be burned.
There are several general rules and principles for rejuvenating the currant bush:
- it is necessary to regulate the growth of new shoots so that approximately the same number of them grow in each season;
- a shoot that gives a weak growth must be cut off, leaving no more than 5 buds. This contributes to the healing and strengthening of the plant;
- the cut should be a few centimeters above the kidney;
- you need to cut the branch at an angle of 45-50 °;
- the number of branches to be cut depends on the strength of the bush. The better it is developed, the more branches it can have. On strong specimens of currants leave 12-14 shoots, weak enough 5;
- in order to get a uniform harvest from season to season, it is necessary that there are branches of different ages on the bush;
- long stumps should not be left, as they can serve as a shelter for pests and become a source of infection for all plantings of this garden culture;
- cuts are recommended to be treated with ash, garden varnish, charcoal or special preparations.
The main goal of rejuvenating the bush 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 topshoots (thin, vertical shoots that form at the very base) on the remaining skeletal branches. Leave the 3 most developed "zero" branches to maximize fruiting. At the end, the ends of the shoots left for fruiting are shortened to wood.
In addition, when pruning, they get rid of the following branches:
- broken;
- directed inside the crown;
- lying on the ground;
- not yielding crops;
- weak.
If there are problems 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. So the plant will gradually renew itself and there will be no branches older than 4 years on it.
Radical pruning will help to 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 dung is added: 10 parts of water are taken for 1 part of the mullein. During the season, such feeding is repeated several times. If the procedure is carried out in the fall, cuts and trunk circles are mulched with grass, sawdust or straw. This method of rejuvenation activates the vegetation of new shoots from the basal 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 is aging and, over time, loses its 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 disturbed, and the root system becomes much stronger. As a result, the growth of new shoots is activated, of which no more than 5 of the most developed should be left, and the rest should be removed.
If you want to save a copy of a currant variety, the bush of which is no longer subject to rejuvenation, you can use one of the vegetative methods of obtaining a young plant: cuttings or cuttings.
The technology for rejuvenating black currant using layering is simple:
- in March-April, young annual shoots are chosen that grow at the bottom of the mother bush;
- bend them to the ground, add them in drops and water them during the season;
- 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 the method known as Michurinsky:
- 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 top dressing is done;
- from the young plants that appeared in the next season, half of the strongest and most developed are chosen, and the rest are uprooted and new cuttings are planted in their place;
- the same algorithm is repeated with the second half of the adult currant bushes.
This method is suitable for industrial cultivation of black currants. Thanks to this method, planting will always remain young, and the yield 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 currant ages earlier, and they begin to rejuvenate it from the age of 5;
- red currants need updating from 8 years old;
- black currant forms fruits on shoots for 2-3 years, in redcurrant branches 5-8 years have the highest yield;
- in black currant, most of the fruits are formed on the central buds, in red - at the ends of fruitful shoots.
Thus, in black currants, all shoots that are more than 5 years old are removed, shoots older than 3 years are pruned by a quarter, and yearlings by a third.
To rejuvenate the red currant bush, 8-year-old branches and older are cut off, 10-12 growths are left on young shoots, the tops of the heads affected by aphids are removed.
Bush care after rejuvenation
Despite the fact that black currant tolerates pruning well, after the procedure, the plant needs special care. The most important measures for caring for a bush after rejuvenation are feeding and watering.
First of all, weeds are removed around the currants and the plants are fed with nitrogen fertilizers. If the pruning was carried out in the fall, then half a spoonful of superphosphate and potassium sulfate are applied under the bush. After spring pruning, the currants are fed with nitroammophos, dissolving 1 tbsp. l. fertilizer in a bucket of water for irrigation.
The best way to deliver the nutrients you need is humus mulching.
Watering black currants infrequently, usually one abundant watering every 20 days is enough.
Experienced gardening tips
Over the years of growing black currant, 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 heed the time-tested advice:
- if, due to age, black currant has ceased to bear fruit well, you should not try to return its yield by increasing the number of fertilizing and watering. In this case, you cannot do without rejuvenating the bush;
- it is better to rejuvenate the old bush in several stages over the course of 2-3 years, so as not to injure the plant too much;
- the renewal of currant bushes begins with the formative pruning of a young plant: already in the next season after planting, the shoots are shortened in order to awaken dormant buds and get new branches. A bush of the correct shape lends itself much more easily to further rejuvenation;
- A good way to increase yields is to pinch the shoots. Do it in the middle of summer on young growths and "zero" shoots;
- before you start a rejuvenating black currant haircut, you need to get rid of sick, broken and frozen branches.
One of the biggest challenges faced by newbies embarking on blackcurrant rejuvenation is determining the age of the branches.Experienced gardeners are always guided by the color of the shoot: the darker it is, the older it is. Annual shoots are covered with a delicate smooth light gray bark, in 2-year-olds the bark is thicker and coarser, in addition, several lateral branches appear. The bark of the older branches is rough, cracked and has many shoots.
Conclusion
You can rejuvenate the black currant bush in different ways, the main thing is to adhere to the rules and carry out the procedure regularly. Then this garden culture will delight you with an abundant harvest of delicious juicy berries for many years.
