Blackcurrant is very popular among gardeners due to its unpretentiousness and valuable vitamin complex, which is present in its berries. Almost every garden plot has several blackcurrant bushes. The maximum fruiting period of the shrub is from 4 to 8 years, after which the berry can be smaller. Sooner or later, you have to think about planting new bushes.
Benefits of Cherenkovanie
Cuttings are considered the easiest way to propagate black currants.
- The undoubted advantages of this technology include:
- The ability to harvest planting material several times a year.
- The resulting sprout will retain all the characteristics of the variety of the mother plant.
- Saving money on the purchase of planting material (you can get many seedlings from one plant).
- The ability to plant a young plant in a constant place of growth without subsequent transplantation.
- Cutting cuttings does not harm the mother plant, moreover, the harvesting can be done during the sanitary cutting of an adult shrub.
Did you know? Blackcurrant is called "WITHnorthern lemon» for the content in fruits of a large amount of vitamin C.
How and when to collect cuttings
It is most convenient to use lignified cuttings, since green ones have weak immunity and a scarce supply of nutrients, as a result of which they develop poorly and often die.In spring, cuttings are cut at the beginning of the active vegetation of blackcurrant, when the buds swell (March - April), so that full roots are formed, which is extremely necessary for the subsequent planting of seedlings before the summer heat.Autumn harvesting of cuttings for further storage is carried out after leaf fall (November).
If rooting of the seedling in the soil is expected in autumn, then planting material should be prepared in September so that rooting occurs before frosts occur. Cuttings are harvested from root (main) branches or from first-order annual branches. the edges.The branch from which the cuttings are harvested must be strong, healthy, not less than 7 mm thick. It is cut into pieces 15–20 cm long.
The lower section is made under the kidney, and the upper one is 1.5 cm higher than the kidney. The lower cut must be done at an acute angle, the upper - at a straight angle. For cutting, do not use the upper and lower segments of the branches. You can propagate the plant with cuttings from the second year of bush growth.
Important! In the first year after rooting, all buds and flowers on the plant must be removed. The appearance of the ovary and ripening of the berries takes a lot of strength and does not allow the young shrub to fully develop.
Storage of procured material
Harvested cuttings can be stored for a long time at rest. For this place of slices, it is immediately necessary to dip in molten garden var, beeswax or paraffin. Harvested cuttings are collected in bundles, tied with twine and stored in a dark, cool place, sprinkled with wet sand (for example, in a cellar). You can also store planting material in the refrigerator or even in the snow, having previously wrapped it with parchment and polyethylene.So planting material will be protected from pathogens and pests.
Propagation technology by cuttings
There is a sufficient number of technologies for propagation of blackcurrant by cuttings. Often planting material is planted in the ground without first sprouting the roots. However, in this case, the survival rate of the plant drops sharply. To ensure the survival of the seedling, it is worth taking care to “help” it to grow the root system.
Germination of material in water
At home, it is easiest to prepare planting material for planting by sprouting roots in water:
- in late March - early April (when the buds swell), cuttings from first-order branches should be cut, making the upper cut at an angle of 90 ° 1.5 cm above the kidney, the lower cut - under the kidney, “oblique”;
- cuttings should be 15–20 cm long, on each of them it is necessary to leave two upper buds, the rest cut off;
- planting material is placed in jars of water, not more than five pieces in one container;
- it is best to install banks near a window that faces the north side of the house;
- water in the tank must be added, but not completely changed (this inhibits the growth of roots and sometimes leads to the death of the sprout);
- after 10-12 days, the first roots will appear;
- after the roots have reached a length of 1-1.5 cm, seedlings must be planted in separate glasses with a nutrient mixture. For this, three parts of peat, one part of humus and one part of sand are mixed;
- after transplantation, it is recommended to place 5 nitrofoska granules on top of the soil;
- the first week sprouts should be watered abundantly;
- landing in the ground can be done in about a month;
- Before planting in open ground, the seedlings must be hardened by placing them in “open air” conditions, first for several hours a day, and then around the clock. After a week of hardening, the sprouts can be moved to a constant place of growth.
Dates of planting and rooting
In autumn, cuttings should be planted in regions with a warm climate. This must be done before the onset of frost. If the site is located in the middle or northern latitudes, and winters are windy and with little snow, then there is a high probability that the young plant will freeze before it takes root.
In the spring, planting cuttings with sprouted roots is necessary after they have grown the root mass in cups with a nutrient mixture and went through the hardening procedure. The time of rooting in the open ground of germinated sprouts occurs at the end of April - May. The sooner the better. However, it is necessary to ensure that the temperature of the soil is at least + 8 ° C.Important! Young seedlings must be protected from direct sunlight throughout the first year of growth.
Landing requirements
The plot for planting blackcurrant should be smooth, well-lit, preferably calm. Lowland wetlands are best suited. However, it should be borne in mind that the plant does not tolerate bogging and the presence of groundwater closer than 1.5 m to the surface of the earth, as well as spring flooding.
The soil should be fertile, sandy loam or loamy, with a neutral level of acidity.
Soil preparation
A place for spring planting is recommended to be prepared in the fall. It is necessary to dig up the earth to a depth of 20 cm, remove all weeds and add 4 kg of organic matter (compost or humus) per 1 m². In the spring, you need to re-loosen it and add as a fertilizer a solution of wood ash (1 liter can of ash per bucket of water) and superphosphate (100 g) per 1 m².
Did you know? When growing currants from seeds, there is no transfer of the characteristics of the variety from the mother plant to the daughter.
Disembarkation process
It is advisable to plant black currants next to the fence or large trees at a distance of 1.5 m, which will create additional protection from the wind.The landing hole is formed with a depth of 40 cm and 50 cm wide. If groundwater comes close, it is necessary to place expanded clay or broken brick as drainage at the bottom of the pit.The seedling in the planting hole must be installed obliquely, sprinkle the root system with earth and compact a little, then add more earth and compact again. The root neck of the plant should be at a depth of 7 cm underground, this will improve the survival rate and further development of the shrub.
Care for young seedlings
Immediately after planting, the plant must be abundantly watered (10 liters of water per seedling). Throughout the season, you need to ensure that the soil remains moist. To preserve moisture, the near-stem circle should be mulched with peat, straw or sawdust with a layer of 3-5 mm.
If the soil was prepared correctly before planting, then for the first three years the shrub does not need additional fertilizing with organic and phosphate substances. Seedlings must be shaded from direct sunlight. The soil around the bushes should be regularly loosened and weed from weeds. About a month after planting, the seedling needs to be fed 15 g of nitrogen fertilizer, for example nitroammophos, this contributes to the growth of shoots and green mass.
Propagation of blackcurrant by planting sprouted cuttings in spring is the easiest way to update plantings on your site. At this time, the cuttings do not need to be processed for long-term storage. You can simply cut the right amount of planting material, sprout it and immediately plant it in the ground. Such a procedure is not time-consuming and complicated, and even a beginner gardener can do it.