Gooseberries in our country are planted by many gardeners on their plots. This culture is unpretentious in care and grows in almost all climatic zones, without creating any special difficulties.

One of the most significant problems with gooseberries is a large (sometimes too large) number of shoots. If gooseberry pruning is not carried out or carried out irregularly, after a few years, harvesting will be almost impossible, since the branches of the crop are very thorny, and the needles will simply interfere with successfully reaching the berries. In addition, the abundance of shoots will affect the yield in the direction of its decline. The plant loves light, and in order to get a good harvest, the fruit needs excellent light. Considering the above, pruning gooseberries in the spring is a procedure that should not be neglected in the most urgent way.

Features of the formation of a bush in spring

If a grower is interested in harvesting a great gooseberry crop, the first thing he should do is learn how to properly prune the shrub. Part of this work is mandatory in the spring - as a result of the work carried out, by the time the fruits ripen, the crown of the bush has already had time to finally form.

Preparing the bushes

It won't take a lot of time to trim gooseberries, but by the middle of summer it will be possible to evaluate the results of your labors.

The advantages of manipulation are obvious:

  • the pruned bush is well lit and ventilated, which reduces the risk of fungal pathologies and parasite attacks;
  • the plant gets a neat appearance;
  • since more nutrients and moisture accumulate in the remaining branches, the yield of gooseberries increases;
  • pruning prevents chaotic rooting.

When to trim

It is most effective to prune gooseberries in early spring, when the vegetative period of the plant has not yet begun. If the procedure is performed at the beginning of March, when the branches are still "sleeping", the gooseberries will be provided with normal growth. Since the sap flow begins almost with the first warm rays of the sun, guessing the time is quite difficult. Especially if the gardener does not live on his site permanently, but gets out to it from time to time. In no case should pruning be carried out if the growing season has already begun and the buds have begun to swell. It will be more advisable to wait with the procedure until autumn. Otherwise, the shrub will be harmed, and you can only dream of a decent harvest.

Important! Gooseberry is a culture that is one of the first to awaken after winter. In this regard, the plant must be cut off as soon as the snow melts, and the earth dries up a little.

Rules for the correct pruning of gooseberries

Answering the question of how to prune gooseberries in the spring, it should be noted that, like any other garden manipulation, pruning must be done in accordance with certain rules, otherwise the bush will start to hurt and not bear fruit too well. General recommendations for pruning gooseberries in the spring can be summarized in the following significant points:

  • you can cut off branches only before the leaves appear;
  • the shoot should be cut off a centimeter above the bud towards the outside;
  • all weak, sick, old (over 6-8 years old) branches must be removed;
  • each old shoot must be cut to the place from which it originally began to grow);
  • all lateral shoots should be cut "to zero";
  • to rejuvenate the plant, when pruning an old bush, you will need to do 2 or 3 approaches;
  • you cannot remove more than 1/3 of the total number of branches on the shrub;
  • thin branches should be removed with pruning shears, and thick ones with a lopper;
  • too thin shoots are shortened to a large bud.

On a note.The rules listed above, although they do not fully answer the question of how to cut the gooseberries in the spring, but they give an idea of ​​how to proceed in order for the formation of the shrub to pass without problems and overlays.

Features of pruning by year

Every experienced and fairly competent gardener knows that the gooseberry pruning scheme largely depends on the age of the shrub. This approach is due to the fact that when the plant reaches a certain number of years, it is necessary to ensure the replacement of branches to maintain the yield indicator at a consistently high level.

The correct pruning plan for years should look something like this.

1st year

In the first year, the strongest branches are to be shortened. They need to be shortened by about 3 or 4 buds. Weaker shoots need to be trimmed no more than 2 buds. In addition, in the first year of the plant's life, those branches that have somehow been damaged should be cut out. When autumn comes, the shrub must be inspected again, this is necessary for the timely removal of branches damaged over the summer. For the winter, it is enough to leave 5-6 shoots on the bush.

II year

In the second year, you will need to thin out the plant again. This time, all branches that are less than 20 centimeters long are to be cut. You need to cut off those shoots that grow in the horizontal direction. To improve branching, it is recommended to shorten skeletal branches to a height of 30 centimeters. It is enough to leave no more than 5 healthy shoots so that a young two-year-old shrub receives in full all the nutrients it needs for growth.

Schematic growth

III-IV years

In the third and fourth years of the life of the gooseberry, the picture with the cropping of the plant should look approximately identical. Damaged, strongly drooping and dried branches are removed. If the growth of the shrub is unsatisfactory, and branching is insignificant, the length of the main branches should be made no more than 15 centimeters. As a result, no less than 12 new shoots will grow by the end of the season.

V year and more

In the fifth year, the gooseberry reaches its peak yield. The shrub has at least 30 branches of various ages. Such a bush should be formed by removing damaged and poorly developed branches. To rejuvenate the old plant, the 5 most powerful young shoots are usually left, and the rest are cut off. It is best to use a phased approach when doing this. In other words, split the procedure several times.

Council.When it comes to bringing a substantially neglected gooseberry back to life, only radical pruning can help. The entire bush should be trimmed to a height of 15 centimeters from the ground. This will allow the plant to start forming new shoots as intensively as possible.

Classic cropping: step by step instructions

The classic way of pruning gooseberries is characterized by the fact that no changes are visible on the shrub after the procedure. This is due to the fact that, in accordance with the methodology, only excess density and height should be eliminated. As a result, the plant does not need to be tied up, and harvesting becomes much easier. A classic cropping is done according to the following scheme:

  1. In the first year after planting, a third of all shoots are cut. You only need to save three branches with strong and straight-growing stems. The rest must be eliminated at the root;
  2. Improperly growing, diseased, broken and lying branches are removed;
  3. In the second year of the gooseberry's life, young shoots are cut by a third of the length. The seven most powerful and healthy shoots are left;
  4. In the third year, when the shrub is already beginning to bear fruit, the old shoots are subject to shortening, and three healthy branches are left intact on the young;
  5. When the plant reaches five years of age, it must have at least 20 branches of various ages.

This is how the step-by-step mechanism of classic plant pruning looks like.

Important! It is very easy to recognize old, obsolete branches. They are almost black in color and are dry.

After carrying out the classic pruning, the places of large cuts must be covered with garden varnish.

Non-standard methods of pruning gooseberries

Of the non-standard methods of cutting gooseberries, trellis and standard methods are used.

We use sharp tools

Trellis trimming

Answering the question of how you can cut gooseberries, one cannot but recall the trellis method. It finds application if the crop is planned to be grown on a trellis. The latter means the supports placed in one row, with a wire stretched between them at a height of 50, 80 and 100 cm.

The bush should have at least 3 branches, which should be fanned out and tied firmly to the lower support wire. Further shoot growth will occur vertically. When pruning, it is very important to achieve horizontal growth of the growing branches. In this case, no more than 5 of the healthiest branches are tied to the trellis, and the rest are removed. The garter process is a phased one. If the first wire is used in the first year of plant growth, then in the second year the culture is tied to the second wire (without reducing the length). In this case, zero shoots are removed.

In the sixth year of life of the gooseberry, a rejuvenating pruning of the plant is performed. All old branches must be removed, replacing them with young shoots.

Important! With trellis pruning, the shrub is well ventilated, and harvesting, due to the availability of berries, turns into a real pleasure, regardless of whether the gooseberry is thornless or with thorns.

Stamp trimming

Stamp pruning, which has recently become more and more frequently used by gardeners, is used when the crop is grown on a trunk.

To form a stem, take the most healthy shoot, which grows vertically, and all the remaining ones are removed. The side branches to the height of the trunk are also subject to elimination (as a rule, we are talking about 1 meter).

Important! Lateral shoots should be trimmed as they appear. Some gardeners, to simplify the care of the stem, put a plastic or metal tube on it, which they bury with the bottom into the ground. It will serve as a support and simplify the winterizing procedure.

In the future, the formation of the bush is carried out according to the classical scheme.

Of the shortcomings of standard pruning, an insufficient indicator of frost resistance can be noted if the culture is cultivated in a harsh climate. In addition, the life of the plant is significantly reduced.

The stem gooseberry will live no more than 12 years, since the rejuvenation of the stem is not possible. This problem is solved by the annual formation of new plants that can replace the old ones.

Care after pruning

Caring for gooseberries after spring pruning consists, first of all, in feeding the shrub with organic matter or mineral fertilizers. This will help the plant build up enough strength for flowering and fruiting.

In addition, after the manipulation, the plant must be watered abundantly. In general, there are no special requirements for agricultural technology after pruning branches.

Popular mistakes when pruning gooseberries

Since the procedure for cutting gooseberries requires some experience, many novice gardeners and gardeners make annoying mistakes. Avoiding them is easy enough. You just need to familiarize yourself in advance with all possible pitfalls in order to successfully avoid them later. It is easier to prevent a mistake than to correct its likely consequences later.

Correct pruning

Some of the most common mistakes in pruning a fruit and berry crop such as rose hips include the following:

  • circumcision of strong one-year increments is carried out;
  • too many branches are removed during culture rejuvenation;
  • many young shoots are cut off instead of old ones;
  • cuts on the branch are made towards the inside of the bush;
  • do spring pruning when green leaves have already appeared.

Council.When pruning gooseberries in the spring, it should be remembered that the procedure is aimed not so much at improving the decorative characteristics of the plant, as at improving its fertility. And in order to get a positive result in the form of a good gooseberry harvest, you will have to do everything in accordance with the recommendations above. Otherwise, all efforts will be wasted.

Some gardeners believe that since the gooseberry belongs to unpretentious crops, it can be planted and forgotten. And remember about the bush only when it's time to harvest. As practice shows, this scheme does not work. Some care is required for the shrub. High-quality pruning of the plant is one of the conditions for growth and fruiting necessary for normal vegetation.