Propagation by cuttings of such a popular berry culture as currants can be carried out not only in spring, summer or autumn, but also in winter. However, most often it is carried out in the spring-summer period, from May to July, trying to select flexible green tops of young shoots for the formation of planting material.
Closer to autumn, in August, cuttings are cut from young semi-lignified branches, on which a light brown bark has already formed. They are no longer as flexible as young spring shoots, but currants are suitable for reproduction.
The procedure for preparing cuttings
First, the shoots are cut with scissors or pruners from healthy, abundantly fruiting bushes, after which they are immediately wrapped in a damp cloth. Then they are fragmented into 12-15 cm segments so that each of them has 3-4 internodes. A couple of leaves are kept in the upper part of the cutting, and everything that will be below is removed.
The harvested cuttings can be immediately planted in fertilized soil, nutrient substrate or preliminarily placed in a container with water, which will allow you to visually monitor the process of formation of their root systems. The last method is simple: in early spring, cuttings harvested since autumn are immersed in water so that in it turned out to be two lower internodes, and after 7-10 days, the appearance of a root lobes. Further, simultaneously with its growth, buds form and swell on the handle, and then leaves will appear.
It is important throughout this time to maintain a constant water level in the container, as well as provide the cuttings with adequate lighting. In one and a half to two months, they will be ready for planting in the garden.
In addition to the water method of preparing currant cuttings for planting, they can be immediately planted directly in a special loose, breathable and moisture-absorbing substrate (sphagnum moss, sawdust, peat, perlite), which is filled with planting containers. The lower part of each cutting is treated with a root growth stimulator of the "Kornevin" type, after which it is stuck into the substrate by 8-10 cm, placing it at an angle of 45 °. The container is covered with glass or transparent film, creating a greenhouse environment, and placed in a well-lit place. The process of rooting cuttings in the substrate with regular watering takes from 3 to 4 weeks, after which they are transplanted into open ground.
Planting cuttings in open ground
Currant differs from many horticultural crops in that its cuttings have the ability to take root in open ground and without preliminary formation of their root system in a nutrient substrate or in water. True, in this case, their rooting will be much slower, and young bushes will begin to bear fruit only after a year.
Cuttings are planted in May in dug and well-fertilized soil. In the first season, they are grown, and only at the end of summer or at the beginning of autumn, having selected the most developed seedlings, they are transplanted to a permanent place. If they are still not strong enough by the fall, then the transplant is postponed until spring.
Planting seedlings to a permanent place
On a suburban area for currants, a dry area is suitable without access to the roots of groundwater, moderately illuminated by the sun, near large fruit trees or along a fence. The acidity level of the soil should be neutral. Before planting seedlings, they dig it up, picking stones and removing weeds, and fertilize with rotted manure or compost substance.
The transfer of seedlings to a permanent place is carried out in the spring or at the beginning of autumn, about 2 months before the arrival of the first predicted frosts.
It is recommended to prepare planting holes for seedlings a couple of weeks before planting. The depth of the holes is usually no more than half a meter, and the diameter should correspond to the volume of the plant's root system. The bottom of the hole is sprinkled with a layer of nutrient soil, after which a seedling is placed in it, placing it under an angle of 30-45 °, and fall asleep with soil previously selected from it (it is recommended to mix it with humus). At the final stage of planting work, a small groove is dug around the bush, watered abundantly, spending up to 2 buckets of water per bush, and, if possible, mulch the root zone.
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