Topic: Black currants

[davholla]

After planting I read that they should be pruned to the ground ?  Why ?
Can I expect fruit this year ?

I did not do this with my jostaberry last year although to be honest it looks more like a small tree than a bush.

[saddad]

Currants throw up new stems from the base and flower on last years growth, if you trim it back you won't get any but you will get a better bush. You have been warned about that Jostaberry... I harvest by cutting off branches.... it will end up 8' in all directions if you let it!!
 ;D

[davholla]

Currants throw up new stems from the base and flower on last years growth, if you trim it back you won't get any but you will get a better bush. You have been warned about that Jostaberry... I harvest by cutting off branches.... it will end up 8' in all directions if you let it!!
 ;D

lol.  I have been pruning the jostaberry.

About the currents.
I found this :-

http://www.how-to-grow.co.uk/how-to-grow-soft-fruits-blackcurrants.htm

Cut back the leading shoots by about half after planting.
Trim the lateral shoots to a couple of buds.

But with mine they all look the same - leading shoots.

Do I need to prune the white currants ?  I bought one last year from cool temperate and another 2 this year (one just a week ago) and I was told not to prune it by Phil Corbett.

[jennym]

I'm not too keen on some of the info shown on that site, davholla. Laterals don't really come into it with blackcurrants, so I don't really think it's a site to recommend for info.
If your blackcurrant already has lots of stems coming up from soil level, it may be 2 or 3 years old when you bought it, so you may not have to cut it. If it doesn't have lots of stems, cut it and give a high nitrogen feed.

In my experience, whitecurrants are pretty slow growing and don't need a great deal of pruning. Follow advice for redcurrants when pruning whitecurrants, they are totally different from blackcurrants.

[davholla]

I have 2 black currants.  One is Wellington XXX from Rougham Nurseries and quite big 3 stems but 30 cm or more high.

The other one is X from poundland much smaller.

I guess the first is 2-3 years old and the other a new one.
They are both in pots with lots of manure.