Currants – planting, cutting and varieties

The berry bushes are available in different varieties with different degrees of ripeness. The special features of the different varieties of currant bushes include:

• Red currant: juicy red berries that taste aromatic and have a high acid content.
• Black currants: blue-black berries, aromatic, tart taste.
• White currants: mild in taste, the berries are yellowish in colour.

location and optimal planting time

Like all gooseberry species, currant bushes also prefer sunny to semi-shady locations, which should be sheltered from the wind. The berry plant makes no special demands on the soil, although a neutral to slightly acidic pH value is optimal for currant growth. It should also be rich in humus and there should be no risk of waterlogging. Regular enrichment with compost not only supports the development of the plant, but also protects it from drying out too quickly.

The best planting time is from October to mid-April, provided the plant has not yet sprouted. If several currant bushes are to be planted next to each other, a certain planting distance must be planned: for a hedge culture, the distance between the individual currant trees is 50 centimeters. With a bush culture, a minimum of 2 m must be planned. After transplanting, the plants need a certain amount of time to take root. For this reason, existing shoots have to be shortened by about a third. Support posts are recommended for tall currant trees and hedge shrubs so that the plants can grow straight up.

watering and fertilizing

Currant trees need to be watered regularly. However, waterlogging is absolutely taboo, promotes rotting of the roots and can cause lasting damage to the plant.

In order to supply the shrub with important nutrients, the soil should be enriched with compost and loosened up more often. This measure stores moisture in the soil and is particularly recommended for young cuttings.

Cutting the currant

As a perennial berry plant, the currant must be regularly thinned out. This action usually takes place immediately after the fruit has been harvested in order to ensure another productive harvest in the following year. The cut must be made annually for the berry bushes, otherwise the yield of the berry harvest will decrease continuously every year. With optimal care – which also includes the right pruning technique – a currant plant bears an average of 12 kg of berries per year.

• Currant variety plays a role in cutting
• also the choice of the right cutting tool
  • for strong shoots small pruning or folding saws or pruning shears
• first important pruning takes place immediately after planting
• Shorten existing shoots by about a third of their previous size
• Remove two to three of the older main shoots from the red and white currants
• from the 4th year the plant develops fewer berries here, remove shoots in good time and radically
• Plant can use important nutrients for younger shoots
• saw off generously just off the ground
• Promote one- and two-year-old shoots
  • show the best harvest results in the coming year
  • Leave the strongest rods as a substitute for the older main shoots
  • A total of about six to ten main shoots on the bush
• Shorten or completely remove side shoots close to the ground from a height of approx. 40 cm
  • promotes fruiting
• Also remove dead, diseased and weak shoots
• Encourage currants to form new, strong side shoots
• prune some of the existing young side shoots down to two or three buds
  • this pruning ensures a high-yield harvest in the years to come
• Cut black currants radically back to 5 or 6 buds immediately after planting
• Expose pruning in the first year
  • Plant must form sufficient nutrients for roots through existing leaves
• annual blackcurrant shoots are the best-yielding
  • For this reason, do not prune radically, just thin out well
  • Completely remove old main shoots by the third year at the latest
• High trunks require a special pruning technique
  • Shoots should retain their round shape and not lose stability if there are too many berries
  • Never break out or damage the grafting point

hibernate and multiply

Currant bushes are perennial and do not require special winter protection. However, autumn is exactly the right time to propagate the plant:

• Currant plants reproduce very well via annual shoots, which should be around 20 to 30 cm long. For better root development, it is advisable to make the straight lower cut directly below an eye.
• While the bottom cut surface is straight, the top surface of the cutting must be cut at an angle. This prevents excessive moisture from penetrating the interior.
• The depth of the planting hole should be about 30 cm, the soil is enriched with compost.
• The cuttings must be inserted deep, only about 10 cm protrude from the ground. Water well and cover with a layer of sawdust or lawn clippings.
• In the early days, the cutting must be frequently supplied with water.
• If the plant changes location after root formation, weakly developed and broken roots must be removed.
• The cutting needs two to three years until the first berries form on it.
• The currant must be pruned in the first year after the root system has developed. Unwelcome and weak shoots are removed.

diseases and pests

Even the Ribes is not immune to a variety of pests and diseases:

• If the yield of the fruit decreases every year, although regular pruning and fertilizing are carried out, one reason could be an infestation with the currant gall mite. This transmits a viral disease that makes the affected plant infertile in the long term. Infested bushes can be recognized by the weak sprouting of leaves and fruits, heavily infested buds appear swollen and turn brown from June. Thick leaves with significantly narrowed, irregular tips are also an indication of currant gall mite infestation. This pest mainly infests the blackcurrant, it is controlled by removing the infested buds (round buds) and shoots.
• The visit of the currant bladder aphid is most likely to be noticed by the leaves bulging in the shape of a bladder. Depending on the variety, the leaves of the currant plant color differently: the white and black currant get yellow leaves, whereas the red currant develops a reddish leaf color due to the parasites. As with almost all diseases and pest infestations, the currant blister louse also prevents the healthy development of young shoots and leaves. The use of chemical substances has paid off, as have the natural opponents, ladybugs and hoverflies.
• Aphids can also make life difficult for the various Grossulariaceae varieties. Shoots and young buds wither away due to the sucking activity of the animals. If you don’t want to use chemical pesticides, you can also use a liquid manure made from stinging nettles or wormwood. Spray this brew over the affected plants at regular intervals, avoiding direct sunlight during the treatment period.
• Some other pests, such as the currant glasswing and the gooseberry sawfly , can negatively affect the growth of the plant. Currant leaves often show signs of being eaten. The only thing that helps here is the consistent removal of the insects and a pruning of the affected plant regions.
• A felt-like coating on the shoot tips and leaves is a sure sign of American gooseberry powdery mildew . Infested plants are stunted in their growth, the fruits get a bland taste. The fungus is promoted by muggy, warm weather, over-fertilization with nitrogen and also by shrubs that are set too close together. There is no direct help against the infestation. Special preparations can strengthen the resistance of individual currant plants and the right cut can also counteract the American gooseberry powdery mildew.
• The felt-like infestation of leaves can also indicate another fungal disease of the currant. With currant columnar rust, the underside of the withered leaves has orange to rust-red pustules. Only inconspicuous brown spots are visible on the upper side of the leaf. There is no effective antidote to this fungal infestation. It often only helps to plant resistant currant varieties in the garden.

Tips and Tricks

• The location is also decisive for the taste of the fruit. In sunny places, the currants are sweet, while a partially shaded place promotes the sour taste of the berries.
• The plant is usually fertilized by self-pollination. To increase the chance of cross-pollination, you should plant several currant bushes next to each other.
• Currants are also suitable as container plants. Regular fertilization is required here and the correct pruning must also take place here.
• To prevent diseases and pests, you have to provide the plant with important nutrients and remove the older and weak shoots. Certain species are also resistant to blackcurrant rust and the like.
• Fast-growing currant varieties require far more planting distance between each other than is the case with weak-growing species.
• The berries are versatile and can be frozen and cooked. Harvested berries must be used up within two days, they cannot be kept for longer.

Conclusion
 Even small or balcony gardeners do not have to do without the healthy berries, because currant plants also thrive in pots without any problems and are high-yielding.