Content
- Redcurrants - delicious home-grown berries
- Berries of the gooseberry family
- Worth knowing about red currant
- When will redcurrants be planted?
- Which location is suitable?
- How should the earth be?
- How are redcurrants planted?
- Which planting distance is ideal for redcurrants?
- When will the redcurrants be harvested?
- Can the shrubs be moved?
- Can redcurrants be propagated?
- Are redcurrants compatible with other plants?
- How much care do redcurrants need?
- Tips & Tricks
Redcurrants - delicious home-grown berries
Redcurrants are among the most delicious berry fruits in the garden. The shrubs require little care and are undemanding. Nevertheless, they carry many red berries in the summer, which taste best when eaten fresh.
Berries of the gooseberry family
The hobby gardener may not believe that red currant is one of the gooseberry plants. In fact, small thorns are still present in wild-awake plants. In the cultivated forms, they are barely noticeable.
The botanical name of the red currant is Ribes rubrum, with the aftertaste indicating the red color of the berries.
The white currant is a strain that originated from the red currant. Black currants, on the other hand, form an independent variety.
Worth knowing about red currant
Red currant bushes can become quite old with more than 15 years old. However, the cultural forms hardly bear berries in old age.
In the red currant, the largest and most beautiful fruits grow on the somewhat older shoots. This distinguishes them from the blackcurrant, which mainly bears on the annual wood.
When will redcurrants be planted?
As for all berry bushes, autumn is the best time to plant the shrubs. The soil is still wet and the roots do not dry out so quickly.
If the best time was missed, you can still put red currants in the very early spring. Then you have to water more often.
Which location is suitable?
Redcurrants love a place in the sun. In partial shade, they also grow, but the berries remain smaller and do not become so sweet. The bushes do not like too much wind. Therefore, ensure a wind-protected location.
How should the earth be?
The soil should be nutrient-rich and loose. To lean soil improve with mature compost. Heavy soils are in danger of waterlogging. In this case, mix the soil with sand so that the rainwater can drain off.
Since redcurrants belong to the shallow roots, you should keep the soil weed-free under the bushes. Otherwise the roots would be damaged when the soil is worked on.
How are redcurrants planted?
The planting hole should be larger than the root ball. Place the plants so deep in the soil that the shrub base is covered with soil.
Which planting distance is ideal for redcurrants?
Do not plant redcurrants too tight. 1.5 to 2 meters, the shrubs should stand apart. When creating multiple rows, leave at least two meters space.
When will the redcurrants be harvested?
The first red currants can be harvested in good weather at the end of June. The berries ripen unevenly, so you need to pick each shrub several times. The harvest lasts until the end of July.
Birds like redcurrants just as much as humans. If you also want to harvest a few berries, stretch a net over the shrubs by mid-June at the latest.
Can the shrubs be moved?
If the redcurrants are in an unfavorable position, you can transplant them. Bear in mind, however, that transplanted bushes will not fully recover until after three years.
It is not worthwhile to replant elder currant bushes. Buy new shrubs or cut cuttings from the old plant.
Can redcurrants be propagated?
Redcurrants can easily be multiplied by cuttings or descendants.
For propagating with cuttings you cut cuttings of annual rods in winter and put them in potting soil.
To lower a young shoot is bent to the ground, anchored there and covered with soil. Under the ground, several new plants form, which are separated from the mother plant the following year.
Are redcurrants compatible with other plants?
Basically red currant plants prefer to be alone. They need the nutrients in the soil for themselves. An exception is the vermouth, in the vicinity of which the shrubs thrive.
It gets better the currants, if you put under the shrubs a mulch cover from bark mulch, grass clippings (without flowers!), Leaves or other garden materials.
This provides the soil with additional nutrients and prevents the soil from drying out. In addition, you save yourself the annoying weeding.
How much care do redcurrants need?
Redcurrants do not need much care. However, they do not tolerate dryness or waterlogging. If the soil is very dry, be sure to water.
Regular cutting is necessary for the shrubs to carry many berries.
Tips & Tricks
Redcurrants have been grown since the 15th century. Because of their high vitamin C content, they are real vitamin bombs. The consumption of fresh berries should also have a positive effect on blood pressure. Dried redcurrants can be brewed as tea and used for digestion promotion.