Gooseberry and white currant pruning advice

[davholla]

I hope these are good enough photos but any advice on how to prune these, just cut the new growth half the way back?

http://www.photobox.co.uk/my/album?album_id=3084040805

Rather annoying my gooseberries had a very poor year but one of my 3 whitecurrants had a brilliant year which I think was partly due to a better position than the other white currants and of course not being affected by sawfly, any ideas on how to improve it?

[davholla]

[astraman1]

cant see the pics

[davholla]

That was a quick reply, sorry about that it is now public

[ed dibbles]

Drastic as it sounds cutting new shoots back by half is insufficient. They need to be cut back to about an inch of the old wood in order to encourage the bush to produce fruiting spurs.

This will mean cutting off what you consider to be really good shoots but believe me you will ultimately get more fruit that is easier to pick by cutting back harder and make pruning in future years easier too.

The only new shoots that can be left longer are any well placed ones towards the branch ends in order to extend the branches thus making a bigger bush.

Luckily gooseberries and white currants are both pruned in this way.

Happy snipping

[davholla]

Drastic as it sounds cutting new shoots back by half is insufficient. They need to be cut back to about an inch of the old wood in order to encourage the bush to produce fruiting spurs.

This will mean cutting off what you consider to be really good shoots but believe me you will ultimately get more fruit that is easier to pick by cutting back harder and make pruning in future years easier too.

The only new shoots that can be left longer are any well placed ones towards the branch ends in order to extend the branches thus making a bigger bush.

Luckily gooseberries and white currants are both pruned in this way.

Happy snipping

The old wood is presumably where it is darker?  Should I be feeding them now?

[antipodes]

This reminds me that my gooseberry needs pruning! And the raspberries and redcurrant (which gave loads of fruit this year for one small bush!).
I usually cut out any branches growing into the middle and cut the rest down until the whole thing is about 50 cm high. Now it is next to the rhubarb I did not get sawfly this time! Wonder if it is true about sawfly not liking rhubarb?

[davholla]

Wonder if it is true about sawfly not liking rhubarb?

Sadly I don't either.  I will have to spend more time killing them this year.

[goodlife]

Wonder if it is true about sawfly not liking rhubarb

It has worked for me but I don't know if it is down to oxalic acid in rhubarb leaves or as leaves being physical barrier...I use leaves as mulch....or maybe a result of both effects  .

[ed dibbles]

The old wood is presumably where it is darker?  Should I be feeding them now?

Yes new shoots that formed last summer are an off white colour, whippy, and very thorny. The older wood is a darker colour sometimes with a bark and generally thorn less.

Since the overriding reason for pruning is to get good, quality fruit and plenty of it the spur pruning I described above will achieve all three as well as reducing the pruning in future years as more spurs build up.

So to recap:

Prune all the off white spiny new growths down to one or one and a half inches (2 or 3 buds if you like)

Leave any new growth you want to use as branch extensions, these are usually at the top of the bush. reducing these by a third.

If at the end there are any shoots crossing or growing into the middle snip these away.

Also if any branches or shoots are growing too low so that the weight of fruit will cause them to lay on the ground then it is best to take those out as they will not produce quality fruit.

If you want to feed fruit bushes think potash, potash, potash. A dressing of bonfire ash works wonders or if not sulphate of potash, or its organic equivalent, at bud break around march. Not now as the roots are dormant till early spring.

There is no need for nitrogen fertilisers if the plant is growing well. Gooseberries and currants are tough, growing as far north as the arctic circle. The require no cossetting to fruit but good and plentiful fruit means getting the pruning right.

[ThomsonAS]

Helpful thread and reminder. Thanks.

[ThomsonAS]

Helpful thread and reminder. Thanks.

[laurieuk]

Both gooseberries and white currants can be grown very successfully as cordons because they both fruit on old wood and they will  take up very little space and are much easier to pick.

[davholla]

Thank you all for the replies.  Due to a) disorganization and b) a chest infection.
I have only just started pruning them.  I was rather surprised that the white new bits were 10+ cms long in some bushes.
This was rather a puzzle because a) I had a very poor yield last year b) I also had a major sawfly attack.
Is this normal for it to grow so much?

[goodlife]

Thank you all for the replies.  Due to a) disorganization and b) a chest infection.
I have only just started pruning them.  I was rather surprised that the white new bits were 10+ cms long in some bushes.
This was rather a puzzle because a) I had a very poor yield last year b) I also had a major sawfly attack.
Is this normal for it to grow so much?

Yes it is normal and you actually find that when they are growing really well, you get even longer new growth. I suspect the sawfly attack has actually stunted the growth some amount.

[Clayhithe]

I grow gooseberries,  whitecurrants and redcurrants as cordons.
The main stem is tied loosely to a long cane held at a slight angle.
All side shoots are cut back to 3" sometime after fruiting,  but well before Spring.

The bushes seem to need space:  where they were crowded the yield was poor.

Curiously,  every whitecurrant bush I've ever bought,  or been given,  has become a redcurrant!
Any thoughts,  anyone?

[Digeroo]

On advice from this forum I put all rhubarb leaves below my gooseberries.  No problems with saw fly but no way of knowing whether this is due to the rhubarb but there are definitely saw flies on other plots. 

My white currant is very pink.   Bought another and it has gone pink as well.

Many thanks for the advice on pruning, I am not brutal enough.  Do not like cutting things off.  I thought I would prune them while in flower but found the long new growths on some were covered in flowers particularly the hinnomaki red so I got really confused.

I do not think I would feed now the food will get washed away.  I feed once the leaves start, and then again after flowering.