Success with blackcurrants depends on pruning the bush properly, says Nick Hamilton
'Blackcurrants produce the best crop on year-old shoots, which makes them suitable only for growing as bushes.'
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| Best fruits come from year-old shoots
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Only grow as bushes
Blackcurrants produce the best crop on year-old shoots, which makes them suitable only for growing as bushes. If starting from scratch, plant the blackcurrant bush into the prepared hole, so that it is 5cm (2in) lower than its original level. This will mean the bush can be stool-pruned, which involves cutting half the branches down to soil level every year.
Cut half the branches down to soil level
Stool pruning does seem quite drastic, but the bush will fruit on the half that remains, and the new shoots will emerge from below soil level. The problem with blackcurrants is that the older and woodier the bush gets, the less it fruits, so by using this method the bush is always regenerating and giving the best possible harvest.
Older blackcurrant bushes
If you have inherited an older bush, cut back the shoots to leave a very short stump from which the new shoots can grow. After the leaves have fallen in autumn, cut back all those that have borne fruit to soil level, and leave the new shoots in place to fruit the following year.
Take time to select the first branches to be cut out completely so that the bush is even in shape and nicely open. Each blackcurrant bush will then fruit on half its shoots each year, giving a more than ample harvest for most families. If you rush at it, and remove too many shoots from one side, the bush will become unbalanced and an eyesore.
Look further
Nick and Sue Hamilton run
Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland, Leicestershire, formerly owned by the late Geoff Hamilton.
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