I have some 3-year gooseberries and currants that I planted and cut back last year. How should I prune them this year?
Many thanks :)
Si,
For currants, cut out or back all thin, low and infected wood an cut back other older stems as you need, but only a few each year. For gooseberries, shorten the leader length, cut out any rubbish and try to leave a nice open centre to the bush (goblet shape if possible). Hope this helps. Lance
alternative way for blackcurrants, where fruit comes on 2 year old wood:
grow bushes in pairs
prune alternate ones down to the ground in Autumn - 1-2" from ground, new shoots will come from under the ground
after fruiting and leaf drop to maximise benefits of photosynthesis
mulch with compost or manure
easy peasy! :)
PS blackcurrants are GROSS FEEDERS so BF&B in Spring and mid season, they like to be well nourished (think teenage boys)
redcurrants and goosegogs:
cut off about one third of the bush down to the ground, to make a shape it's easy to crop from, so 2/3 is always fruiting, the aim is a nice open goblet shape like lancelot say
can recommend the Barnsdale Gardens half-day course on Pruning Fruit Bushes!
:D
Thank you both tons :)
With redcurrants and gooseberries, I prefer to treat them like a little tree, as they tend to produce on permanentish fruiting spurs, so wouldn't cut too vigorously - form a little trunk and take out any branches in the the centre to assist picking, but only tip the branches by about a quarter, don't cut right back. You can grow these as single stems cordons too, sometimes this is a very good way to svae space and ease picking.
With blackcurrants, I cut out one third of the oldest stems in winter each year and give a high nitrogen feed in early spring. They then produce new stems which will bear good yields of fruit in the summer of the following year (not the same year) and also the year after.
Red currants and gooseberries can be grown as cordons and do very well. It makes them easy to pick, they take up less space and produce first class fruit well away from the ground. You buy young plants or start from cuttings, select a good strong stem and tye it to a cane at 45 degree angle. Each year you prune back the side growths to form fruiting spurs and reduce the top by about one third.
See our fruit growers handbook on my site.
http://www.blackmoor.co.uk/soft_fruit_culture.php?osCAdminID=697c6c5db48701cda771c766dbe5c215&osCAdminID=697c6c5db48701cda771c766dbe5c215&osCAdminID=697c6c5db48701cda771c766dbe5c215&osCAdminID=697c6c5db48701cda771c766dbe5c215&osCAdminID=697c6c5db48701cda771c766dbe5c215&osCAdminID=697c6c5db48701cda771c766dbe5c215&osCAdminID=eb61ed9e3752ee6eeaef378cdf809217&osCAdminID=aaa020fbcca791f38a92487fcffefed5&osCAdminID=da9804cad0ae3d81dc3ced24f4ee7ddf&osCAdminID=b7fb58aae179c769f4c5873cc98a0546&osCAdminID=b7fb58aae179c769f4c5873cc98a0546&osCAdminID=8fd6bd06c88167bff40f89604a8151b0&osCAdminID=a5c1b6c5b01c788c10714b575f0a003f&osCAdminID=b7fb58aae179c769f4c5873cc98a0546
Regards
Jon
www.blackmoor.co.uk