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Ive got a 3yr old blackcurrant bush that has never been pruned, and this year it doesnt seem to be doing a lot! Its got very few leaves, quite a few buds, and a couple of flowers but thats it - its like its frozen in time. Could it be frost damage? Or am I just expecting too much, too early? The redcurrants either side are prolific, absolutely dripping with fruit.
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When I take the crop I remove the wood that has fruited, thus encouraging new wood for the next season. Some advice here from the net.
https://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/gard...rrants-pruning -
I doubt it is frost damage. It could be lack of water as they are shallow rooted and would be having a bit of competition from the red currants it is between.
I'm going to have to water my raspberries, redcurrants and blackcurants tomorrow as the soil in their fruit cage is now bone dry even though it had a grass mulch for the first time ever this year.
I've got a pear tree with few leaves on this year and suspect lack of water and the high winds we had for 3 days recently.Comment
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Three possibilities come to mind.
One, drought, as suggested above.
Two, herbicide drift. Shrubs often behave like that when they get a non-fatal dose of glyphosate.
Three, a severe case of big bud mite. Try to remember how the buds looked back in March or so. Where they long and thin, sort of cigar shaped, or where they more like peas? If it's the latter, then big bud mite is to blame. They infest the buds, and cause them to grow stunted, or sometimes not at all. They can also spread a viral disease called reversion.Comment
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Blackcurrants are one of those plants that really like to be fed and will respond to it. In the ideal world you would give them farmyard manure, borrow loads of it if you have a stable near you that is the best source. Compost and inorganic fertilizers are second best, not feeding at all means very poor crops.
Too late for this year's crop now of course but if you want to build the plant's strength for next year, soak the ground for a few hours with a hose first around the base on the bush then put a 6" layer of manure down well rotted if possible. Prune out any 3 year old stems which will be darkest now from the centre of the bush
PS red currants will crop with much less in the way of feeding which is yours are doing OK I expect.Comment
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Thank you all, Im planning on moving the bush this winter, I didnt appreciate just how big currants get! Theres green under the stems as I checked that today. Some stems look a bit pale in comparison to others. It could probably do with a prune in all honesty.
Ameno, thank you, I didnt go to the plot much in march as I was on holiday & then came back to the lockdown. Ive looked a a few pictures of big bud, and compared them to a couple of pictures I took of the bush in april, and big bud is definitely a possibility.Comment
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Pale wood is new wood. It gets darker and darker each year, and after about 4 years it's pretty much black.Originally posted by Bex2012 View Post
Blackcurrants only fruit on wood produced the previous year, so you don't want to just give them a trim, as doing that will just cut off all your fruiting wood. You need to removed about a quarter of the older stems right down to ground level every year (this can be done any time from after harvest until before bud burst the following spring). This encourages the production of strong new stems from the base, which will bear more fruit. Leave all other stems untouched (with the exception of any dead or diseased bits, which should be cut out).
Normally, you would start this regime from year 3, however since yours is barely growing this year, personally I would hold off on it until next year.Comment
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