Red currant is not as spreading as black: its shoots tend to go up, not in breadth, which means that in the garden this crop takes up less space. The plant needs more light, but it is not demanding on moisture. Red currant can grow for a long time in one place (up to 25 years) and at the same time not lose yield. These features must be considered when choosing a place for a seedling and planting it.
The nuances of planting red currants at different times of the year
If you need to propagate your own bush, then the best time to plant is the beginning of autumn. In the case when you decide to acquire a new variety by purchasing seedlings in a nursery or a specialized store, you do not have to choose: the planting time will depend on when you managed to buy planting material.
For your seedling to turn into such a luxurious bush, 4-5 years must pass
Landing in spring
In order for the berry shrub to take root well in the spring, it must be planted before buds open. However, during this period the land has not dried out, and gardeners open the summer season much later - when buds are already planted on the currant. At this time, seedlings are bought with leaves already open and an open root system (with bare roots, without an earthen coma). The chances that such a currant will take root are very low, but there are agricultural practices that will help the bush take root in a new place.
Viable seedlings of red currant: the root system is well developed, the leaves did not sag
Rules for planting red currants in spring:
- If there are buds on a seedling, remove them so that the plant can direct all forces to rooting.
- In no case do not break the leaves, even if they wilted and hung! In the bosom of each leaf, a kidney of next year develops. There will be no leaves - there will be no buds, the bare shoot will simply dry up. To restore turgor (i.e. elasticity and tone) of the leaves, lower the sapling with its roots in the water for several hours. It is advisable to add root formation stimulants: Epin (1 ml per 5 l of water), Zircon (4 drops per 1 l), Cornerost (1 tablet per 2.5 l), etc.
- Shorten the shoots so that the aerial part and the roots are about the same size. At the same time, note that the base of the stem of a seedling when planting needs to be deepened by 5-7 cm.
- After planting, sprinkle the currants with "vitamins" for plants that help to cope with a stressful situation, for example, Energen Extra (1 capsule per 1 liter of water).
- The first days of shade currants, keep the soil constantly moist.
Landing in summer
Now on sale seedlings are increasingly coming with a closed root system, that is, grown in containers. The easiest option for planting in the summer is to buy such a seedling and transplant it by transshipment to a permanent place. In this case, the root is removed from the container with a lump of earth, which prevents damage; the plant takes root quickly, begins to grow new shoots and leaves.
Seedlings with a closed root system take root well even in summer
Summer planting is also necessary if you bought red currants in a pot or container with leaves already blooming in late winter - early spring. Where do such seedlings come from if the earth is just starting to thaw? These are cuttings that were rooted last year, but did not have time to sell. They are placed in winter storage in refrigerators or cellars until spring. Often such bushes have not only leaves, but also thin, elongated and bleached shoots. On this basis, we can conclude that before the plants went on sale, they were stored incorrectly: in warmth and darkness. If you bought such pampered seedlings long before the onset of the summer season, in no case do not put them immediately on the street - they will die from the bright sun and from frost. There is only one way out - to keep currants on the windowsill or in the greenhouse for the entire period until the threat of frost remains, that is, until the summer.
How to save seedlings purchased in early spring, before planting in the ground:
- If the roots of the seedling are not in the container, but wrapped in a film, expand, inspect them, cut the rotten ones and plant the bush in a container, the volume of which corresponds to the size of the roots. Use ready-mixed universal soil or mix garden soil with humus and peat in equal proportions.
- If the seedling is in a cup, the volume of which is less than the aboveground part, transplant it by transferring it to a larger container.
- Place the seedling on a bright and cool window.
- It is extremely rare to water currants, in a pot it will grow very slowly and consume water poorly. Watering is needed only when the top 2-3 cm is dry or the leaves are slightly tucked up, but you need to water it abundantly to wet the entire lump of earth.
- On the pot, mark with the marker on the side where the south is. Always hold the currant in this position: with the label pointing south. Orient the bush in the same way during hardening and when planting in the ground.
- On warm days, begin to temper the currant: take out under the open sky, first for an hour; for a week, the duration should be increased to daylight. Bring the seedling into the room at night.
- You can plant currants in a permanent place only after the end of frost and the establishment of warm weather. In central Russia, this happens in early June.
Video: pros and cons of seedlings in a container
Planting in autumn
Autumn is the most favorable period for planting berry bushes. Its advantages:
- It is possible to prepare a place on the site, in contrast to the spring planting.
- Saplings for sale - fresh, not stored all winter in the basement, do not need hardening.
- It’s not scary if the leaves dry and crumble, because kidneys have already formed.
But there is a nuance in the autumn planting: you need to buy and plant currants a month before the onset of cold weather, that is, in early September, otherwise it will not have time to take root and freeze in the winter.
Choosing a place for a seedling, bad and good neighbors
Dig a landing hole where it will be comfortable currants, and not you. This culture loves sunlight, does not tolerate waterlogging and close occurrence of groundwater. If possible, plant a bush in a well-lit hillock or other sunny place. You can not plant red currants in the shade of fences and trees.
Plant red currants on an open unshaded area
Be sure to observe the correct neighborhood. Redcurrant coexists well with gooseberries, but grows poorly and bears fruit next to its closest relative - blackcurrant. Also, you can not have seedlings next to raspberries, cherries and other trees and shrubs that give growth. Root offspring of neighbors can sprout inside the bush of red currant, it will be impossible to get them out of there.
The main part of the roots of red currant is concentrated at a depth of 30-50 cm, so you can grow nearby vegetables, herbs, strawberries and other crops with a superficial location of the roots.
Tip: planting onions around red currants will protect the bush from pests.
Pit preparation
Redcurrant grows well on slightly acidic loamy and loamy soils. The site must be cleared of weeds in advance and a landing pit prepared. If you plant several bushes, then follow the pattern: 1.5 meters in a row and 2 meters between rows. The hole under the seedling must be seasoned with loose and fertile soil mixture, which will supply redcurrant with nutrients for several years. Do this in advance, at least 2-3 weeks before planting, so that all components in the pit have time to sag.
Video: how to properly prepare the landing pit
Classic dimensions of the landing pit: 60 cm in diameter and 50-60 cm in depth. But on poor, clay, rocky lands, these parameters can be even more - up to a meter in diameter, because the larger the pit, the more soil suitable for currants will enter it.
Stages of preparation of the landing pit:
- Put the top layer of the earth when digging a hole in a separate pile.
- After digging a hole of the required depth, fill it to half with humus or compost, add 2 cups of wood ash and add to the top with topsoil earth.
- Mix all the ingredients well.
The landing pit is ready: dug up, filled with nutrient soil, marked with a peg
The process of planting currant seedlings
With the apparent simplicity, the planting of young currants has its own characteristics. If you know and use them, the seedling is very easy to take root, will grow and quickly give new shoots necessary for the formation of the bush.
So, we plant red currant:
- In a prepared and seasoned landing pit, make a hole slightly larger than the seedling root.
- Lay the seedling at an angle of 45 °, with the apex to the north. In this situation, young shoots will grow on the south side, not obscured by old ones.
- Deepen the seedling, that is, place it in the hole so that part of it (5-7 cm from the root neck) is underground.
- Fill the roots with soil, lightly tamp.
- Make a roller around the circle, water the currants and mulch.
Video: rules for planting currant bush
There is an opinion: if you shorten (trim) the roots of the seedling, then the root buds will wake up faster, from which shoots of substitution will grow. But such operations can only be done by experienced gardeners, beginners should skip this step in planting currants.
If the bush needs a transplant
Many gardeners often have this situation: first they planted a young bush, and then they read about the rules for planting and realized that they had chosen the wrong place or had not prepared the pit correctly. As a result, currants grow poorly, give weak shoots, they are few. The mistake can be corrected by transplantation with the implementation of all the agricultural practices outlined above. The best time for a transplant is autumn, when the buds of the next year are laid and matured.
It will be easy to dig out and transfer a still non-fertile small bush. Water the currants well the day before, dig up and, without shaking the roots, together with a lump of earth, transfer to a suitable prepared place.
It is much more difficult to transplant an adult bush:
- Trim the old branches at the soil level, young cut in half.
- Dig a bush around the perimeter, the bulk of the roots lies at a depth of 50 cm, and the breadth does not extend beyond the periphery of the crown.
- Do not pull the bush from the ground by the shoots! To lift it, use a shovel, crowbar and similar devices.
- After the bush can be dug up, inspect the roots, cut out the rotten and damaged ones. Collect and burn pest larvae.
- Carefully move the bush to a new place and plant it in a pit prepared for it.
An adult bush transplant: they dug around the currant and picked it up with a metal pipe.
Planting red currants is not as easy as it may seem. If you want to grow a strong and productive bush from a small seedling, then simply digging a hole and planting as it turns out will not be enough. You need to choose the right seedling, time and place for its planting, as well as know the tricks that will help currants to settle in a new place faster.
