Content
Berry bushes can be grown in many different forms. Standard gooseberry is a small tree that looks great, and its berries grow larger and tastier than on a regular one. The shape of the plant gives originality and showiness to the site. In order to obtain such a result, it is necessary to apply knowledge, strength, time. But the resulting effect will surely delight the gardener and everyone around him.
For the first time, Europeans began to cultivate standard plantings, creating beautiful, convenient for processing and harvesting trees. Today the novelty is rapidly gaining popularity due to the undeniable advantages of the method.
What is the difference between the standard gooseberry and the usual
Standard gooseberry (photo), unlike a shrub, has a single trunk and crown.
The height of a miniature tree ranges from 0.6 m to 1.5 m and depends on which method was used, what is the height of the grafting location. The form is man-made, created only by the efforts of gardeners. The unnatural appearance of the plant requires the installation of additional supports and protection from the winds.
An unusual shape can be obtained in two ways:
- conducting formative pruning;
- by grafting on the stock.
Standard gooseberries, currants have one even trunk, at the top of which there are falling branches and a deciduous cover in the form of a cap.
Plants look very beautiful at any time of the year. In spring and summer, bright leaves, flowers and fruits are clearly visible on it, in autumn it turns into a bouquet of variegated leaves, in winter a pattern of long winding branches is noticeable.
Benefits of growing gooseberries on a trunk
Gardeners who leave reviews about the standard gooseberry note a number of advantages of such a plant:
- due to the elevation of the crown above the ground, it is not very susceptible to disease;
- the crown of the standard gooseberry is well ventilated even in a quiet place protected from winds and drafts;
- the yield of the tree is a quarter higher than usual;
- berries remain intact, clean even after heavy rains and unfavorable weather;
- the branches of the standard gooseberry do not break in winter under the weight of snow;
- during frosts on the surface of the soil, the fruit buds are not damaged, since they are located at a height of 40 cm from the ground;
- the life expectancy of a standard gooseberry is at least 15 years;
- it is easy to cultivate the land under the plants;
- convenient to pick berries;
- the tree looks very decorative, serves as a decoration for the site.
Among the shortcomings of the standard gooseberry are:
- high cost of seedlings;
- the need for constant removal of root growth;
- dependence of the strength and yield of a plant on only one shoot;
- winter-hardy varieties are needed to create a shape.
How can you make a standard gooseberry on your site
Thanks to the advantages of standard forms, they are becoming more and more popular. Prices for such seedlings are quite high, so gardeners are looking for ways to reconstruct shrubs with their own hands. One method is as follows:
- Choose the most powerful, straight, upright gooseberry shoot.
- Remove all branches except the selected one.
- The lateral shoots are cut off from the left shoot to the height of the trunk.
- A polyethylene tube is put on the future trunk, which does not allow light to pass through.
- The lower end of the pipe (10 cm) is buried in the ground.
- A peg is installed for support.
- Root growth is removed annually.
- Over the next years, they form a crown, leaving no more than 5 branches.
You can get a tree not with the help of a self-rooted seedling, but by applying a graft on golden currants. Some gardeners who are proficient in this method plant several varieties at a time, creating an elegant, interesting tree with different types of berries.
How to grow a standard gooseberry
Before proceeding with the formation of a standard gooseberry, it is worth remembering that this procedure will take quite a lot of time. After formation, the real crop can be removed for about 6 years. By this time, a replacement for the "dying" gooseberry should be grown.
The standard plant should have a peg-like support located on the side of the prevailing winds.
To obtain the correct shape of the gooseberry on the trunk (photo), pruning is carried out, shortening powerful shoots, inconvenient and ugly located.
Stamp forms require more careful attention to themselves. Despite their winter hardiness, they should be placed in areas of the garden protected from northern winds. If the climate in the region is harsh, then creating a reliable shelter will not be superfluous for successful wintering.
What varieties are suitable for growing gooseberries on a trunk
Unlike ordinary bushes, standard gooseberries cannot be covered with snow in winter. In the frost-prone zone, the trees are above the snow cover. For this reason, it is worthwhile to carefully select varieties for specific regions of the country.
It is important that the plants are weakly branching, with a small amount of root growth. These gooseberry varieties include:
Generous
It is a medium-sized, spreading shrub with many branches. Its foliage is small, the flowers are large, green-red. Fruits of irregular red-violet color, rounded, have a thin skin covered with hairs. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour.
Redball
A new thornless gooseberry variety. Its berries are large, red, firm, with green veins on a red background. The taste of the fruit is pleasant, sweet and sour.
Harlequin
Medium spreading shrub. Its fruits are of medium size, oval, dark cherry, with a medium thickness skin, without hairs. The taste of the berry is original, sour-sweet.
Invicta
Represents a variety of English selection, the ripening period of which is average. The berries are large, weighing 6 - 8 g. Bushes with thorns, vigorous. Invicta's standard gooseberry gets from bush resistance to powdery mildew and other diseases.
Spring
This is an early variety with excellent fruit taste. The height of the bush is 1.5 m. Its berries have a weight of 5 g, the shade is yellow.
Red triumph
Fast growing variety with long and strong fruiting. Recommended for industrial cultivation.
Experts and amateur gardeners, who left their feedback on the gooseberry on the Red Triumph trunk, noted its positive aspects:
- the tree looks very beautiful;
- he is fast growing;
- excellent productivity;
- ease of care.
How to grow gooseberries on a trunk
The easiest way to create a standard gooseberry is to form a plant into one trunk. This method is easy to use, even for novice gardeners:
- When planting a bush in a permanent place after rooting, leave the strongest upright shoot, removing the rest.
- The procedure of "blinding" is carried out - all the buds are removed from the lower part of the shoot, leaving 4 - 5 pieces at the top.
- Shoots that have developed from the left buds are shortened by half in the first year of the formation of the standard gooseberry.
- In subsequent years, old, fertile, damaged or diseased branches are cut off.
- Basal growth is periodically removed.
Growing a standard gooseberry by grafting
To grow a standard gooseberry by grafting, it is necessary to prepare a consumable. For this purpose, cuttings (scion) from a varietal plant are cut, thorns are cut off from them. Storage is carried out in wet sand, sawdust or peat at a temperature of about 3 ⁰С.
As a stock, golden currant is most often used.
Grafting is carried out on pre-planted plants in the spring, during the period of the beginning of sap flow.
The most common methods of vaccination are:
- into cleavage - a different diameter of the scion and rootstock is allowed;
- improved copulation - the sizes of the slices are the same;
- in the side cut - suitable for grafting different varieties;
- in the butt - a known method allowing different sizes of scion and rootstock.
Planting and caring for standard gooseberries
The most favorable time for planting a standard gooseberry is autumn. Spring - can lead to the death of the tree, because after the onset of heat, the soil becomes dry, the roots do not have time to take root.
When placing the standard gooseberry in a permanent place, it is necessary to dig the planting holes at a distance of at least 1 m from each other, with row spacing of 2 m.
The site must be protected from northerly winds, well lit. The soil for the plant is fertile, light.
For a correct fit, you must:
- Dig a hole 50 cm deep and 60 cm wide in advance.
- Fill it 3/4 with fertile soil, mix with fertilizers (200 g of superphosphate), ash.
- Spill a hole with 20 liters of water.
- Trim off the damaged parts of the roots and dip them in a clay mash.
- Place the seedling in the hole, spread the roots, fill in the voids and compact the soil a little.
- To deepen the root collar by 5 cm.
- Drizzle again.
- Mulch the near-trunk circle with peat.
Care rules
Although the gooseberry is considered a drought tolerant crop, regular, abundant watering, especially during its flowering period, will ensure a good harvest of berries. The roots of the standard gooseberry are at a great depth, so the water must saturate the soil at least 40 cm deep. The rate of one-time watering under a tree is about 50 liters. The plant needs loosening of the soil and its further mulching, after which a crust does not form on the surface, weeds do not multiply, moisture is retained in the soil. Sawdust can be used as mulch. straw, cut grass, peat.
In the year of planting, fertilizers are applied to the planting pit. The next feeding is carried out in the second year of growth during the appearance of buds, then during flowering and the last one during the period of setting the berries. A mixture of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus is used for this.
The standard gooseberry needs constant support in the form of a peg, installed from the side of the winds. It is cleaned of bark, treated with a special impregnation from decay, and painted. Important! The plant is tied in two places with a "figure eight" - in the middle of the trunk and at the level of the crown, so that constrictions do not form.
Periodic pruning is necessary to obtain a beautiful and functional crown of a standard gooseberry. During the first - they try to give it a rounded shape. After five years, a haircut is carried out in order to rejuvenate the plant, removing old and diseased branches.
It is very difficult to cover a standard gooseberry for the winter. Experts advise, before the winter cold, to carry out the simplest measures - to increase the layer of mulch on the trunk circle, to spud and cover the trunk with spruce branches.
Conclusion
The standard gooseberry is a new form of the long-known long-liver of gardens and vegetable gardens - the shrub-like gooseberry.It looks impressive, its ripening berries are much larger than usual. Subject to the rules of planting and proper care, a beautiful tree grows in the garden, bringing an enviable harvest.
