In the last weeks before spring begins to abound with young greenery, gardening enthusiasts prune fruit trees and bushes. In particular, currants and gooseberries need such care. This helps rejuvenate the plants, for which they are grateful for the giant harvest.
GLOBAL HAPPENINGS learned how to properly prune these bushes. Timely processing allows them to feel better, grow and bloom more intensively and give good fruits.
First of all, when pruning fruit bushes, it is necessary to remove from them all branches that are in poor condition – dried up, frozen, damaged by pests or diseases, poorly developed. This in particular will remove the extra shade from the plant and it will receive more sunlight.
You also need to remove those branches that have finished bearing fruit. The bush will focus on releasing new ones – young and healthy. These are branches of a certain age:
- for blackcurrant – more than 4-5 years;
- red and white – more than 4-5 years;
- gooseberries – more than 5-7 years.
The result of pruning should be 15-20 strongest shoots rooted in the soil with additional roots. It is important to pay attention to the age of these branches – shoots of each age should be 15-20% of the total.
You need to start trimming the bushes in the second year after planting. At this point, 2-4 well-developed buds should be left on each branch of the bush. Weak and unsuccessfully located shoots are subject to removal. During the second pruning and beyond, in addition to skeletal branches, you need to leave 3-4 strongest annual shoots that come out of the base of the bush.
When pruning basal shoots, it is important to distribute the new skeletal branches so that they do not obscure each other. At the same time, the remaining annual basal shoots should be shortened by a third, and for those that are 2-3 years old, remove the top by about 3-5 buds. Care for branches older than 4 years consists in cleaning the dried tops.
Earlier, GLOBAL HAPPENINGS told how to add currant, gooseberry and raspberry bushes in spring for a better harvest.
Source: Obozrevatel
I work as a news website author and mostly cover the opinion section. I have been writing since I was a teenager, and have always enjoyed telling stories. I studied journalism at university and loved every minute of it. After graduating, I decided to move to London and take up a position with a Global Happenings. It has been an incredible experience, learning about all sorts of different cultures and meeting some amazing people. My goal is to continue learning and growing in my career so that I can provide readers with the best possible content.
