A lot of currants grow on my site. Black and red. To get a good harvest, I must prune it. I often do this in the spring, observing important rules.
Why cut currants
In order to collect a consistently high yield, you need to subject the bushes to regular pruning. I do this procedure annually.
Currants can live and bear fruit for many years, but berries are formed only on young shoots. It makes no sense to leave five-year-old branches, they only draw out food, without bringing any result.
During the season, many shoots are formed that can replace old ones. If you do not thin out the shrub, then the shoots will become weaker, and the harvest will be smaller.
My approach to pruning
I try to cut the currants as early as possible in order to be in time before the start of active sap flow. If you hesitate, the currants will lose a lot of nutrients along with the juice. This will affect further development. As soon as the snow melts and I can get close to the plants, I begin the process.
I follow a balanced approach when pruning currants. I leave approximately the same number of shoots from one to four years. First I clean up the broken and the weak.
Then I cut off the growing inward, which will thicken the shrub in summer. Cut out intertwined and heavily curved. From the rest, I choose the four best shoots of each year. Last year's are easily recognizable by the lighter color of the wood. The age of the rest is determined by the number of growth levels.
I cut off the remaining ones near the ground. I must cover the sections with garden brews in order to exclude infection with diseases.
Then I shorten the tops of last year's shoots a little. This stimulates the growth of lateral fruiting branches.
Features of pruning red currants
Red currants differ from black currants in that fruits are formed not only on one- and two-year-old shoots, but also on older ones.
She does not ration the bush so strictly over the years. In addition, red currants produce fewer underground shoots per season. Therefore, I often leave five and six years old. The main thing is that they are healthy.
In addition, I do not shorten the tops of young shoots of red currants. Because the clusters of berries are formed on them.
By the way, the same approach will be for white currants, which I have not yet acquired.
What do I do if the bush is too thick
On the site I got a currant planted by the old owners. The plants were hopelessly thickened. I wanted more berries as soon as possible. Therefore, I decided to leave them, planting new ones in parallel.
To put them in order, I divided the pruning into two stages. If you cut a lot at once, then the bush may simply die. The balance between the root system and the aboveground part will change dramatically.
In the first year, he cut out the oldest, sick and broken ones at the root. The next season, the bush responded with the rapid growth of new shoots from the ground. At the second stage, I cut out all the other extra shoots, leaving about 20 different ages. In subsequent seasons, he followed a general approach to pruning. These bushes gave me a good harvest for a long time.
I have been pruning for many years. My approach gives excellent results, so I am confident in it. The main thing is to observe regularity and consistency. Pruning does not harm the currants in any way, but only benefits.
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