There are several methods of propagating the bushes of tasty currants. It is quick with cuttings and sinkers, it takes a little longer when the bushes have been sown. Cuttings can also be obtained from currant trees, the lowerers are usually only used for shrubs. When is the right time to multiply and how to do it correctly is explained in the following article.
Table of Contents
Multiply
If there are currants of different varieties and types of growth in your own garden, then these can be propagated using different methods. Shrubs can easily be propagated with cuttings by lowering them; cuttings can be taken from small trees. But new plants can also be grown with seeds obtained from the fruits. However, sowing is the variant that takes the longest and therefore the first harvest takes place later than when growing cuttings or sinkers. In addition, a plant propagated by sowing does not match the mother plant genetically, whereas currants grown from cuttings or sinks do.
Cuttings
If a currant in your own garden bears particularly tasty and lots of fruit, then this is the ideal plant for gaining cuttings for propagation. Because the offshoots obtained in this way develop into bushes that carry the good genes of the mother plant. The following should be used for extraction:
- Choose a well-bearing shrub
- Choose healthy annual shoots
- Use a sharp and disinfected knife
- cut off desired shoots
- Divide into 20 to 30 cm long pieces
Right time for cuttings
The right time to harvest the cuttings is late autumn. This time can also be chosen to cut the entire shrub at the same time. So two jobs can be done on the bush at the same time. The ideal cutting time is also as follows:
- a dry, overcast day
- frost-free
- otherwise the mother plant will be damaged
Plant cuttings
The location for the growing bed should be bright and sunny, and there should be enough light here even in winter. However, the direct blazing midday sun should be avoided, as otherwise the bed and cuttings could dry out too quickly. If the shoots have been obtained and cut to the appropriate length, then proceed as follows:
- Cut the lower side of the log at an angle
- leave the top straight
- Prepare the growing bed
- with loose, permeable soil
- possibly fold in sand and compost
- Pierce holes in soil with a stick
- at least ten centimeters away
- 15 cm to 20 cm deep
- Insert cuttings above the ground except for two eyes
- water lightly
Then a layer of mulch is placed over the growing bed so that the moisture remains in the soil and the cuttings are protected from frost over the winter. The plants need enough irrigation water even on frost-free and very dry days, otherwise they will dry up quickly.
Transplant cuttings
In spring, the first leaves should appear on the eyes of the new currants that are above the ground. If the plants are already big enough, they can be moved. If this is not the case, you can wait until autumn to transplant. Then they are put in their new location. The procedure is as follows:
- Bed in a sunny and bright spot
- Prepare soil in the bed
- mix with compost and sand
- create drainage against waterlogging
- Stones or pottery shards on the bottom of the planting hole
- Carefully remove the currant plants from the growing bed
- then transplant to a new location
- Fill in the soil and water well
- Apply a layer of mulch before winter
The first harvest of the new currants obtained from cuttings takes about three years.
Sinker
Propagation with cuttings that are lowered is also recommended; this works well with shrubs that have low-hanging shoots. These are not cut off, but anchored in the ground. You should proceed as follows:
- use annual shoots
- bend this down
- the floor should be touched about halfway through
- dig small hole
- Insert bend
- Refill with sawdust and earth
- fix with a tent peg or a large curved nail
- the sinker continues to be supplied by the mother plant
- nothing further needs to be considered
Right time for lowering
Spring is the ideal time for the sinker to take root and create a currant plant. In this way, roots can be formed over the summer and in autumn the time has come to separate the new small plant from the mother plant.
Plant subsidence
After sufficiently strong roots have formed, the offshoot is separated from the mother plant directly behind the covered part and planted in its new location. To do this, the cuttings with the tender roots are carefully removed from the earth. When planting, proceed as described in the point “Transplant cuttings”.
sowing
If currants are to be sown from their own seeds, however, Mendel’s laws must be observed. This is because these say that a sowing carried out from an existing currant bush does not have the same genetic advantages as the mother bush. This always results in a new combination of the existing genetic material. It is therefore not a given that the sown bushes offer a harvest that is just as rich and tasty as the mother plants.
Sowing currant seeds
If the seeds are to be sown, they must first be freed from the pulp and then stored in a dry place. Because the seeds should only get into the ground next spring. For this purpose, small growing pots with the appropriate soil are used. When sowing, proceed as follows:
- Lightly insert the seeds into the soil
- always keep well moist
- place in a warm, bright place
- can also be given directly into protected beds
- protect it from birds
- with a bird net
Only when the seedlings are big and strong enough should they be moved to the desired location.
Conclusion
If you want to propagate new plants from your currants that offer the same yield, you should refrain from sowing and propagate using cuttings or cuttings. Because the two processes guarantee that the new small plants have the same genes as the mother plant. When sowing, on the other hand, the genes are always changed, and the harvest is rarely or not at all. In addition, it is easy and requires little maintenance to pull the new currants out of cuttings or cuttings.
