Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Red Currants and Other follow-up Pruning Questions

Iris in Hanna, Alberta saw the Herald column on pruning but was wondering specifically what to do with Red Currants - I didn't address those. She's says she is a faithful reader so what can I do? I must add a little addendum:

Red currants bloom on small spurs on wood that is 2-3 years old. Iris' shrub is only 4 years old but she is afraid to prune it. I suggested she wait until mid-June to make sure it doesn't bloom this year and then cut the shrub back to about half because she says  it is getting tall and unmanageable (a sign of a young tree or too much compost or fertilizer). In the future she can cut out all but two-three of the new sprouts in spring and most of the older than four or five year branches. If the sun shines on her shrub she should have blooms this year and every year after!

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