There are inconspicuous yellow flowers in June. Currants should be also trained after planting. Remove one-half of new growth again the following spring. Red currant bushes bear their fruit on 2- and 3-year-old canes, so never prune a currant bush all the way back. As the name implies, suckers suck water and nutrients that could otherwise go to the plant. Broken and dead wood are removed annually and some thinning needs to take place to enhance air and light penetration. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Prune out the short, spindly, dead or damaged wood – as close to the base of the currant as practical. At planting, cut all the canes back to four or six buds. If you trimmed off a dead or diseased stem, then you need to clean the shears after each cut that you make. How to Prune Currants to Train Them Cut out all the previous years flowered branches to a point to suit – 30cms from the ground is great! Alpine currant is a compact, multi-stemmed shrub with a rounded shape. For classic hedges, cut the top flat or gently … Shorten all the branches by a quarter, cutting to an outward-facing bud. Pruning currant bushes is an annual process that should be done when the bush is dormant. A These soft fruits are all pruned in the same way.. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years. For security purposes, prune shrubs or tree branches that obscure the entry to your home. Pruning fruit bushes can seem complicated but is, in fact, very simple. Another reason you don't want the stems to hang too close to the ground is because they might get tangled up in weeds. The 5 Things You NEED to be Doing to Get a Job, Faster. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. "Good article, easy to follow, and plenty of pruning help. Mark them in the fall before leaf drop so you'll know them in the late winter. September 2015 in Plants. Read on to find out how to grow alpine currants and pertinent alpine currant info. Bright green leaves are 3-5 lobed, turning to a dull yellow in fall. Very little pruning is needed after this for the first four years except for removal of broken and dead wood. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Currants are tiny berries in the genus Ribes. Sign up for our newsletter. It forms a thick shrub with branches all the way to ground level. Learn more... Redcurrants are a type of shrub that produce beautiful, red berries. The right tools make pruning easier and help you do a good job. Prune right back into the bush. Currant pruning requires the removal of the oldest wood annually in very early spring. Thanks. Alpine currants appreciate regular pruning to keep the plant healthy and shapely. Tolerates full shade. Fruits are produced on three-year-old wood, which needs to be preserved. Leaves grow on thin stems, so a pair of pruning shears or secateurs should be large enough to cut through them. Alpine currant shrubs typically grow to heights between two and six feet (half a meter to about two meters) and have thick, abundant foliage. Start alpine currant hedges with shrubs less than 2 feet tall, and cut them back by one-half at planting. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Pruning currant bushes is necessary to keep the form of the plant, remove any diseased material and, most of all, to keep the plant’s interior open. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Watch this expert RHS video on pruning soft fruits including redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries when growing in a restricted space References Flowering currant can be pruned after flowering in April or May. Between winter and summer, the bush will grow a lot, so you will need to prune it again. Cuts are made ¼ inch before the growth point to preserve the bud. However, do this as soon as possible. Accordingly, do you cut back currant bushes? Prune out the clutter using thinning cuts (the removal of shoots or branches at their point of origin), to keep the currant open. Prune currant bushes. With proper pruning, however, you can ensure that your redcurrant grows healthier, free of pests and disease. Choosing the Right Currant Plant. Keeping the older stems will allow them to … Currant pruning is a quick annual chore and part of regular maintenance. The branches of the plant should be tied in towards the center, then a circle of hardware cloth can be … Pruning will do this. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 21,208 times. Prune out wood in the centre – for light and airflow. Fruit production in the home requires that the gardener learn how to trim currant bushes. Currants will grow in average garden soil. Prune at any time of year (flowers are insignificant) or simply allow plant to grow naturally. Established blackcurrants are at least 1 year old and have already had fruit. Blackcurrants grow as a stooled bush, with all the growth coming from ground level or below and they fruit on the previous season's growth. If rabbit damage is found you can protect the plant with a fence formed with hardware cloth (looks like chicken wire but with small square holes). Cut the new plants back to about half their height. You may want to rejuvenate the bush. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Q How do I prune gooseberries, white currants and red currants? Green Mound Alpine Currant will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. If you planted the bush in fall, however, you should definitely wait until spring before pruning. Renewal pruning involves removing one to five of the largest branches of the shrub down to the ground each spring to help … As you can see form the photos they are looking a bit tatty now. Renewal pruning can be done every year in the spring on a mature alpine currant. DO NOT attempt to prune near electrical and utility wires. This plant has some cultivated varieties. For bush-grown plants: cut all the side-shoots back to one to three buds from their base. By using our site, you agree to our. Remove one-half of that new growth. The bare areas should fill in eventually, but maybe not in one season. The key thing to remember is to prune the bush in the winter so that the middle is hollow. Prune your alpine currant hedge in early spring, before new growth begins. Try to finish on an outward-facing leaf rather than an inward-facing leaf. % of people told us that this article helped them. You can use these methods to prune white currants and gooseberries as well. Alpine Currant – Pruning, Winter Care and Fertilizing. How to prune gooseberry bushes and currant bushes. Plant currants in slightly acidic soil to neutral soil; a soil pH of 6.5 to 7.0 is optimal. After the plant is four years old, you will begin removing any canes that are older than three years old. Prune back hard – The other way in which to grow a spectacular Ribes shrub, is to cut the Ribes back very hard each year – right after flowering! There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. You can prune the hedge again in mid-summer if needed. Trimming the newer stems will help encourage growth and give you a bushier plant. Extremely winter hardy. You are essentially cutting about a third of the stem off. The answer is to prune them and the time to do the job is right now. This is called heading back and is always done to a healthy bud. Most plants found in the nursery trade are male plants, which will not produce seeds. Many people are nervous about the process so leave fruit unpruned which will result in progressively lower yields as the plant ages. This is done by selecting one third of the branches, divided evenly over the bush, and cutting these back to a height of about 50 cm. Last Updated: July 13, 2019 Currant pruning is one of the key maintenance chores related to cultivation of the berry. If you don't do this, you risk transferring the infection. Native to Europe, alpine currant, Ribes alpinum, is a low growing, low maintenance plant with bright green foliage present throughout the summer. Apart from deseased, dead and touching branches? The best way in how to prune currants is by using sharp implements that will make clean cuts and won’t invite pathogens. Noteworthy Characteristics. These shrubs need little winter care but should be occasionally checked for rabbit or other damage. One of its best qualities is its small, rich green leaves. Once the stem hits 4 years though, it won’t produce many berries, if at all. Use the right tools for pruning. What Are Hybrid Tea Roses And Grandiflora Roses? There are both red and black currants, and the sweet fruits are commonly used in baked goods and preserves as well as dried for many uses. The leaves and narrow branches allow alpine currant can be used nice background plant or as a hedge plant that requires little shearing. The Alpine Currant is a great dwarf, compact, dense shrub, growing around 3-4 feet high. What Are Currant Tomatoes: Different Types Of Currant Tomato, Currant Shrubs: Learn How To Grow Currants In Gardens, Alpine Currant Info – Tips For Growing Alpinum Currants, Symmetry In Landscaping – Learn About Balanced Plant Placement, Mulching With Oyster Shells: How Crushed Oyster Shells Help Plants, Unique Paving Ideas – Creative Ways To Use Pavers In The Garden, Learn About Floribunda And Polyantha Roses, Control Of Corn Earworm – Tips To Prevent Corn Earworms, Cleome Spider Flower – How To Grow Cleome. You cannot prune them the same way you'd prune blackcurrants, however. In this case, 98% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. If you can’t burn the stems, treat with an fungicide or pesticide that’s intended for the disease. Start by removing old, unproductive stems in the shrub's interior to open the plant to light. Fruits are produced on three-year-old wood, which needs to be preserved. Blackcurrants and redcurrants can both be pruned in winter, but they need a slightly different pruning method to keep them healthy and fruiting. Alpine currant (Ribes alpinum) is a hardy, low mounded shrub commonly used as a hedge.Plants are tolerant of full sun to full shade. ", "As an 84 year old novice, I found all I wanted to know. Remember to apply fertilizer in the spring. Add aged compost or commercial organic planting mix to planting beds; currants grow best in well-drained soil. You can prune redcurrants the same way you prune white currants. Prune in winter, creating an open bowl shape that deters sawflies and helps ripen fruit. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Currant pruning requires the removal of the oldest wood annually in very early spring. The practice forces the canes to form more canes with healthy buds. Do this as blooms wind down in late winter, after Valentine's Day has passed. The next growing point can be identified by the slight swelling in the wood, and in early spring, it may even show a bit of green peeking out. After cutting the stem off, take a look at the exposed wood. If your plant is in a pot, water it with liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks between late winter and early spring. Approved. Do not plant currants in waterlogged soil. Red and white currants will fruit at the base of shoots, known as ‘laterals’, that grow out from the main branches. This shrub performs well in both full sun and full shade. "Gudrun on Friday 27 January 2012 "Don't do any more, Gudrun. Extremely winter hardy, Ribes alpinum (Alpine Currant) is a compact, mound-forming, deciduous shrub with bright green, trilobed leaves in spring. I was thinking of taking a scissors to them and cutting them back so that they no longer obscure the stones. Head back one-year-old shoots to the next growing point to force branching. Prune away any crossing shoots or branches. This plant can be planted in the shade. It gets a little fuller when it leafs out in spring. Alpine Currant, Mountain Currant. A well-rotted manure will do just fine.