Spring pruning and gooseberry rejuvenation for beginners

Every experienced gardener is aware of the need for pruning trees and shrubs. Gooseberries are no exception, which grows intensively and needs to grow. Also, such a procedure directly affects the quality and quantity of the future good harvest. Do I need to cut gooseberry branches and what are the best ways to do this?

Why pruning gooseberries in spring

Every year, the gooseberry bushes grow rapidly, as a result of which the plants become thickened, the yield decreases, therefore, it is necessary to regularly carry out the correct pruning in early spring, and this should begin from the moment the seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

Important! Shoots from the age of 6 to 8 years are considered the most productive.

Pruning targets

• The spring formation of the culture is carried out for such purposes:
• the formation of new shoots;
• providing berries with sufficient light and heat;
• prevention of fungal diseases and pests;
• increased fruiting of the bush;
• removal of dry, damaged and diseased branches;
• gooseberry rejuvenation.

Pruning time

Regarding the time of trimming gooseberries, there are several opinions. Some gardeners prefer to do this in the spring, others in the fall. Supporters of the spring formation recommend that the procedure be carried out as soon as possible, before the buds open, because if you do not have time to cut the bushes before the sap flow begins, it can harm the plant and slow down its growth.

Methods of trimming and forming a bush

There are some of the most common and effective ways to trim and form bushes, which include: classic, standard, trellis. Let us consider each of them in more detail.

Classical

Using the classical method, you can form an ordinary bush.

This method consists of the following actions:

1. In the first year, select 3-4 of the strongest and most healthy zero shoots, shorten all branches, leaving 4-5 buds on each.
2. Sick, dry, damaged and improperly growing branches cut completely.
3. In the second year, the newly grown shoots should be shortened by a third, leaving 3-4 of the strongest of them again (in total, there will be about 8 of them in two-year-olds).
4. In the third and fourth years, do everything similarly to previous years. And after the 3rd year, 12 strong branches should remain, after the 4th, respectively, 16.
5. In the fifth year, the culture enters the fruiting period and should have up to 20 powerful branches of different ages.
6. From this period, it is necessary to conduct an annual anti-aging pruning, removing all old branches that are darker in color in color than young ones.

Did you know? Eating green gooseberries helps get rid of the effects of radiation.

Stamp

Recently, the formation of gooseberries in a standardized way has become increasingly popular, thanks to which the plant looks like a small tree. It takes up less space on the site and facilitates the harvest process. But it also has some drawbacks: bushes do not tolerate frosts, life expectancy is only 10-12 years.

To form a standard, you must adhere to the following scheme:

1. Choose the most powerful vertical shoot up to 1 m high.
2. Removing the remaining branches.
3. Trim lateral shoots on the trunk, you can also put on a durable tube and dig it into the ground.
4. Tie the bush to the support in several places.
5. Further, the crown should be formed in the classical way.
6. Leave up to 5 strong branches each year.
7. Last year's shoots trimmed to half.
8. Remove improperly growing branches and growing from the ground near the trunk.
9. The trunk area can be covered with mulch.

Tapestry

This method involves growing the culture on trellises. Thanks to him, the crop and berries receive a sufficient amount of air and sun, it is easier for gardeners to harvest.

Important! When trimming gooseberries, be sure to remove the branches growing low so that they do not take root. This will protect the plant from the effects of pests in the ground.

It consists of the following steps:

1. Install supports in a row and stretch between them in three rows the wire from the ground at a distance of 0.5 m, 0.8 m and 1 m, respectively.
2. Between the rows leave a gap of 1.5 m.
3. Gooseberries planted up to 1 m apart.
4. On bushes there should be 3-4 main branches that need to be tied to the bottom wire in the form of a fan, the rest should be removed.
5. Then they need to be directed to grow vertically.
6. The next year, the previous shoots should be tied to the middle wire. Shorten the central ones more, the horizontal ones less.
7. Zero and root branches cut.
8. From the 6th year, begin to rejuvenate gooseberry bushes.

Trimming and rejuvenating old gooseberry bushes

The process of proper rejuvenation of old gooseberry bushes has been going on for several years, because if this is done at the same time, the plant is likely to die. For such events, very thickened, groomed bushes or those aged 9-10 years are suitable.

Did you know? Translated from English, the word "gooseberry" means "goose berry."

Clearing occurs according to this scheme:

1. Carry out sanitary and thinning pruning early in the spring, removing dry, sick, damaged, growing branches inside the crown.
2. The shoots lying on the ground can not be cut for reproduction by branches.
3. Leave 8-10 of the strongest and most healthy shoots growing up.
4. The remaining branches are cut completely under the root.
5. Every year to clean the plant from unnecessary branches.
6. It is recommended to fertilize old bushes in the summer for renewed strength.
7. If you missed the crop cutoff period in the spring, this procedure must be rescheduled for fall, even before the onset of cold weather.
8. Use preferably sharp, disinfected garden tools (secateurs, clippers, garden saws).

If you adhere to the main rules for the formation of gooseberries immediately after planting a young plant in a permanent place, then you can grow a beautiful, healthy bush that will delight the owner with a large crop of delicious and ripe berries.