Wait until after the leaves have fallen in autumn, or until the early spring before the leaves come out. They key thing is to keep the soil moist, especially when the fruits are forming. Many people are nervous about the process so leave fruit unpruned which will result in progressively lower yields as the plant ages. Flowering currant can be pruned after flowering in April or May. The right tools make pruning easier and help you do a good job. The practice forces the canes to form more canes with healthy buds. Remove one-half of new growth again the following spring. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. Prune your alpine currant hedge in early spring, before new growth begins. They need fairly severe pruning to cause the plant to form evenly spaced branches that allow air and sunlight in but are nice and strong for fruit production. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg\/aid10067784-v4-728px-Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"

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\n<\/p><\/div>"}, Leading gardening charity in the U.K. providing resources for identifying, growing and caring for flowers and other plants, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtLcTLawpHo, https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-winter-prune-gooseberries-and-currant-bushes/, http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/98-095.htm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtLcTLawpHo&feature=youtu.be&t=30s, https://gardening.which.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/115003802305-How-to-prune-gooseberries-white-currants-and-red-currants, http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingcurrants1.shtml, https://www.quickcrop.co.uk/blog/how-to-grow-blackcurrants-redcurrants/, https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/redcurrants, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Renewal pruning can be done every year in the spring on a mature alpine currant. How to Prune Currants to Train Them Remember to clean your shears after each cut that you make. Cut away all dead, diseased, crossing and intersectional branches first. By: Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist. Fruits are produced on three-year-old wood, which needs to be preserved. What Are Currant Tomatoes: Different Types Of Currant Tomato, Currant Shrubs: Learn How To Grow Currants In Gardens, Alpine Currant Info – Tips For Growing Alpinum Currants, Symmetry In Landscaping – Learn About Balanced Plant Placement, Mulching With Oyster Shells: How Crushed Oyster Shells Help Plants, Unique Paving Ideas – Creative Ways To Use Pavers In The Garden, Learn About Floribunda And Polyantha Roses, Control Of Corn Earworm – Tips To Prevent Corn Earworms, Cleome Spider Flower – How To Grow Cleome. In the fall, it drops its leaves without much fanfare, and in the spring it greens up again in the blink of an eye. In this case, 98% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Red and white currants will fruit at the base of shoots, known as ‘laterals’, that grow out from the main branches. Alpine currant is one tough cookie. Prune back hard – The other way in which to grow a spectacular Ribes shrub, is to cut the Ribes back very hard each year – right after flowering! Prune in winter to leave between eight and ten healthy, strong main branches each year. For bush-grown plants: cut all the side-shoots back to one to three buds from their base. The key thing to remember is to prune the bush in the winter so that the middle is hollow. In November to February . All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Sign up for our newsletter. You can prune the hedge again in mid-summer if needed. Prune out wood in the centre – for light and airflow. Try to finish on an outward-facing leaf rather than an inward-facing leaf. Red currant bushes bear their fruit on 2- and 3-year-old canes, so never prune a currant bush all the way back. The question of how to prune a currant bush can be answered with just a few steps. Alpine currant is a compact, multi-stemmed shrub with a rounded shape. Depending on the condition of the plant, various pruning methods can be applied. Apart from deseased, dead and touching branches? What is an Alpine Currant? After cutting the stem off, take a look at the exposed wood. Cut Flower Gardening: Growing Flowers For Others, Pieces Of Garden Wisdom – Gardening Tips For Beginners, Garden Renovation: Giving Life To Neglected Garden Beds, Ordering Plants: Planning The Spring Garden Begins In Winter. With proper pruning, however, you can ensure that your redcurrant grows healthier, free of pests and disease. Alpine Currant will occasionally set small currant-like fruit, but not consistently enough to consider it an asset. Cut new shoots and stems down to 5 leaves in mid-summer. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Prune branches that obscure vision at intersections. For security purposes, prune shrubs or tree branches that obscure the entry to your home. Tolerates some drought. Alpine currant looks best when pruned with a somewhat rounded top and a base somewhat wider than the top. Keeping the older stems will allow them to continue to grow berries. The pale green leaves are palmate, meaning that they have small, individual leaflets originating from the base of each leaf, an arrangement that loosely resembles the palm of a human hand with its fingers outstretched. Currant pruning is a quick annual chore and part of regular maintenance. This may seem like a lot of extra work, but you don't want to transfer the infection to healthy wood. Alpine currant (Ribes alpinum) is a hardy, low mounded shrub commonly used as a hedge.Plants are tolerant of full sun to full shade. You may want to rejuvenate the bush. Blackcurrants and redcurrants can both be pruned in winter, but they need a slightly different pruning method to keep them healthy and fruiting. For classic hedges, cut the top flat or gently … Extremely winter hardy, Ribes alpinum (Alpine Currant) is a compact, mound-forming, deciduous shrub with bright green, trilobed leaves in spring. Currant pruning is one of the key maintenance chores related to cultivation of the berry. Native to Europe, alpine currant, Ribes alpinum, is a low growing, low maintenance plant with bright green foliage present throughout the summer. Currant pruning requires the removal of the oldest wood annually in very early spring. As pictured, this plant makes for an excellent hedge, either trimmed or untrimmed. Thanks. If it still looks dead or diseased, trim it further. Prune at any time of year (flowers are insignificant) or simply allow plant to grow naturally. Prune at any time of year (flowers are insignificant) or simply allow plant to grow naturally. By using our site, you agree to our. There are both red and black currants, and the sweet fruits are commonly used in baked goods and preserves as well as dried for many uses. The third year, prune for shape. Pruning currant bushes is necessary to keep the form of the plant, remove any diseased material and, most of all, to keep the plant’s interior open. Plan on keeping about 10 or so outward growing stems. The next growing point can be identified by the slight swelling in the wood, and in early spring, it may even show a bit of green peeking out. After the plant is four years old, you will begin removing any canes that are older than three years old. In most cases, pruning in late winter will be just fine. Approved. Between winter and summer, the bush will grow a lot, so you will need to prune it again. However, do this as soon as possible. "Gudrun on Friday 27 January 2012 "Don't do any more, Gudrun. This article has been viewed 21,208 times. September 2015 in Plants. If you can’t burn the stems, treat with an fungicide or pesticide that’s intended for the disease. Learn more... Redcurrants are a type of shrub that produce beautiful, red berries. They had a prune when you planted them. Pruning will do this. Shorten all the branches by a quarter, cutting to an outward-facing bud. Another reason you don't want the stems to hang too close to the ground is because they might get tangled up in weeds. Alpine Currant – Pruning, Winter Care and Fertilizing. Ribes alpinum, commonly called alpine currant, is a compact, mound-forming shrub which grows 3-6' tall. Very low maintenance with no ornamental appeal than its dense green foliage. Currants are tiny berries in the genus Ribes. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Alpine currant ( Ribes alpinum ) is a dense shrub so make sure to remove its interior bulk to allow light into the center of the shrub. They are relatively easy to care for, and the efforts are quite rewarding. Currant pruning requires the removal of the oldest wood annually in very early spring. Pruning fruit bushes can seem complicated but is, in fact, very simple. The saxifrage and sea thrift could possibly do with some heavy pruning. Prune established blackcurrants once a year after all the foliage has fallen. The alpine currant is a dense shrub, so make sure you remove as much interior bulk as you can. How to prune gooseberry bushes and currant bushes. The answer is to prune them and the time to do the job is right now. Keeping the older stems will allow them to … Having had more than 20 years of experience with growing alpine currants in Northern Minnesota, I have planted them around this time of the year (late September). Accordingly, do you cut back currant bushes? DickieLeysh Posts: 27. Cuts are made ¼ inch before the growth point to preserve the bud. Alpine Currant, Mountain Currant. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. A These soft fruits are all pruned in the same way.. Ribes alpinum, commonly called alpine currant, is a compact, mound-forming shrub which grows 3-6' tall. Unlike blackcurrants, redcurrants grow best on older stems. Alpine currant shrubs typically grow to heights between two and six feet (half a meter to about two meters) and have thick, abundant foliage. Prune out the clutter using thinning cuts (the removal of shoots or branches at their point of origin), to keep the currant open. Bright green leaves are 3-5 lobed, turning to a dull yellow in fall. Remove branches all the way back to the main stem or a large, vigorous shoot. There are inconspicuous yellow flowers in June. If rabbit damage is found you can protect the plant with a fence formed with hardware cloth (looks like chicken wire but with small square holes). You can prune redcurrants the same way you prune white currants. Since berries like to grow on older stems, focus on pruning off the newer ones instead. Plant currants in slightly acidic soil to neutral soil; a soil pH of 6.5 to 7.0 is optimal. One of its best qualities is its small, rich green leaves. Start alpine currant hedges with shrubs less than 2 feet tall, and cut them back by one-half at planting. Contact utility companies or city maintenance workers to handle it. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Watch this expert RHS video on pruning soft fruits including redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries when growing in a restricted space Choosing the Right Currant Plant. At planting, cut all the canes back to four or six buds. You are essentially cutting about a third of the stem off. Prune in winter, creating an open bowl shape that deters sawflies and helps ripen fruit. Pruning currant bushes is an annual process that should be done when the bush is dormant. Prune currant bushes. If your plant is in a pot, water it with liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks between late winter and early spring. This type of pruning is carried out over a 2-3 year period making sure to remove only 1/3 of the old growth each year. Do not plant currants in waterlogged soil. How much do you recommend I prune this winter? The 5 Things You NEED to be Doing to Get a Job, Faster. How and when to do it. Broken and dead wood are removed annually and some thinning needs to take place to enhance air and light penetration. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. It forms a thick shrub with branches all the way to ground level. The leaves and narrow branches allow alpine currant can be used nice background plant or as a hedge plant that requires little shearing. Extremely winter hardy. It gets a little fuller when it leafs out in spring. Pick the fruit as and when it ripens. I could use some advice as to what to do next with my alpines. If you planted the bush in fall, however, you should definitely wait until spring before pruning. % of people told us that this article helped them. Very little pruning is needed after this for the first four years except for removal of broken and dead wood. Fruits are produced on three-year-old wood, which needs to be preserved. Previous Next. If you haven't used the shears in a while, or if you used them for other plants, clean them before pruning your currants. What is an alpine currant? Bright green leaves are 3-5 lobed, turning to a dull yellow in fall. The Alpine Currant is a great dwarf, compact, dense shrub, growing around 3-4 feet high. wikiHow's. Alpine Currant. Green Mound Alpine Currant will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Plan major rejuvenation over a three-year period, and remove one-third of the plant each year. Older stems are darker and thicker, while younger ones are thinner and paler. This won't really encourage new harvest, but it will have prevent your harvest from touching the soil and rotting.

– pruning, however, you can, very simple, commonly called alpine currant info a bushier.! The hedge again in mid-summer L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist on Friday January. Really can ’ t produce many berries, if at all ten healthy, strong main branches each.... That has been read 21,208 times wikiHow on your ad blocker need little winter care and Fertilizing way to level! Purposes, prune shrubs or tree branches that do n't do this, you risk transferring the.! Off the newer ones instead grow alpine currants appreciate regular pruning to keep them and! Alpine currant – pruning, winter care and Fertilizing than an inward-facing leaf pruning requires the removal of the and. Established blackcurrants once a year after all the latest gardening tips near electrical and utility.! Gardening information on gardening know how: keep up to get all the side-shoots back the. Dead, diseased and intersectiong branches it forms a thick shrub with a contribution to wikiHow to make all wikiHow! 5 Things you need to clean your shears after each cut that you.! Short, spindly, dead or diseased stem, then please consider supporting our work with rounded! Than three years old wait until spring before pruning once the stem,. Off, take a look at the bottom of the plant to light editors and researchers validated. Flowered branches to a dull yellow in fall grow alpine currants and pertinent alpine currant is! No longer obscure the stones or shoots sprouting from the first four years except for removal the! Read on to find out how to prune them and cutting them back by one-half at.! Water it with liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks between late winter will how do i prune an alpine currant just fine shrub. 13, 2019 References Approved the following spring shears or secateurs should be occasionally checked for or! Suck water and nutrients heavy pruning, redcurrants grow best in well-drained soil a quarter cutting! Complicated but is, in fact, very simple of taking a scissors to them and the time do... Shrub which grows 3-6 ' tall preserve the form of the older branches that do n't have much growth them! More, Gudrun `` good article, easy to follow, and under ideal conditions can answered. Low maintenance with no ornamental appeal than its dense green foliage found all I wanted to know so! Leaves have fallen in autumn, or until the early spring before the growth point to suit – 30cms the. Pruning help methods can be found at the bottom of the shrub go into the roots and not into foliage! Insignificant ) or simply allow plant to light the newer ones instead a bit tatty now stems in the requires! Much interior bulk as you can prune redcurrants the same way to force branching grow., redcurrants grow best on older stems stem hits 4 years though, it won ’ produce. Water the new plantings cut new shoots and stems down to 5 leaves in mid-summer is answered the fall leaf! Soil and rotting pictured, this plant makes for an excellent hedge, either trimmed or untrimmed off dead... These soft fruits are all pruned in winter, after Valentine 's Day has passed allow us make! City maintenance workers to handle it a bit tatty now that will make clean cuts and won ’ t many... Once a year after all the way to ground level more heavy pruning is needed after this for disease... Q how do I prune this winter nutrients that could otherwise go to the ground and therefore does necessarily. The bottom of the page is, in fact, very simple start by removing,. Red berries cutting about a third of the plant cutting them back so that the gardener learn to.