What to do with large old overgrown blackcurrant bush

[simon12]

I moved in to this house early last year and there was a massively overgrown mass of plants at the end of the garden. I just notices that at the front is a huge blackcurrant plant around 2M high and 3M across, there is no signs of any fruit but lots of healthy looking new growth. It has obviously not been pruned for years.

So my question is if/how & when I should prune something so big or do they stop fruiting at a certain age/size anyway? Please not I am new to gardening entirely and need things explained clearly. Also I planted 2 new blackcurrant plants 3 weeks ago (2 year old potted) which both seem affected by leaf curling midge or similar which the old plant does not seem to be.

[rustylady]

There's a thread here on renovating an old redcurrant - same advice would apply to your blackcurrant (if it is indeed a blackcurrant). http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ant_72199.html

[rustylady]

Does the damage to your new bushes look like this? http://www.kenmuir.co.uk/image/data/...DGE%20_44_.pdf

Could you add your location (nearest town) to your profile please, as this will show up on your posts and helps when giving advice.

[Paulieb]

Hi, I believe pruning of a black currant, is different to that of a red/white currant.

Very basically red and white currants tend to be grown more as a permanent bush, and are shaped for that reason.

I think the best way to manage a black currant is to remove one third of the stems (at ground level) each year in the dormant season (Nov-Feb). So after 3 years you have a completely new plant (above ground). New stems will come up from the base and as black currant fruit on 1 year old wood, the following year you should get some fruit.

If you just left it eventually it would just run out of energy and get a bit old and tired, and not be as fruitful as is possible. By removing the bigger/older stems you'll keep the plant vigorous and rejuvenated.

[simon12]

Thank you both for the help. There is no way I could just remove 1/3rd of the wood as its impossible to get to the base without removing most of it. I think I will wait for Autumn and just try to remove alot and see what happens. The pics of the new plant damage, yes that is exactly what it looked like but not quite so bad. I read a very old thread on here and removed the badly affected new leaves and sprayed the plant with a mixture of water and garlic on its advice. My town is Redhill, Surrey I will look at how to add that in a sec.