Standard gooseberry: how to make a productive tree from a gooseberry? Caring for standard plants. Methods for obtaining a standard

Greetings, dear friends!

The branches of overgrown currant and gooseberry bushes usually lie on the ground and become an impenetrable barrier for cultivating the land, weeding or collecting ripe berries. To raise lying branches, they construct stands, supports, tie the shoots to a stake driven in the middle, or come up with other strappings.

But there is another, more convenient and beautiful way, in which overgrown shoots will not spread along the entire perimeter of the plantings. Let's talk today about how to grow standard gooseberries and standard currants.

A good example in this direction is shown by the Europeans, who form their berry gardens into a standard form and turn the bushes into small, high-yielding trees up to 110 cm high. Cultivating such standard plantings and picking berries from them becomes a pleasure - no obstacles, stress or bending.

Trees are much easier to care for: fertilizing, mulching, pruning branches, preventive spraying, watering, winter shelter and dozens more advantages in comparison with keeping bush forms. The trees themselves are better lit, ventilated in the crown and less exposed to pathogens.

Gooseberries are transferred to the standard form by root shoots or by grafting, where seedlings or golden currants serve as the rootstock. Currant rootstocks are grown from layering or cuttings for 1-2 years. Ready rootstocks are planted in the fall. The blanks are deepened 5 cm lower than they were grown before and placed a meter apart from each other. After planting the currant seedlings, the most powerful and unbent one is left from all the branches. Summer side shoots are pinched to better strengthening and the formation of a young trunk.

By autumn, the left shoot should slightly outgrow the intended trunk.

Graft

In summer, gooseberries are grafted with a lateral graft behind the bark. Harvested ripened shoots are cleared of leaves and thorns, leaving short petioles. 3 – a bud cutting with an oblique cut at the base is grafted into a T-shaped cut of the rootstock bark.

For planned grafting in winter, the rootstocks are first dug up before the snow, keeping them in a layer of damp moss or sawdust in the basement. Gooseberry cuttings are also prepared in the fall, stored under similar conditions.

The grafted pieces are kept in the room for two weeks, buried in peat and sand in a substrate so that the cuttings grow together better, then they are taken out for storage in the dark of a cold basement until planting.

Spring grafting is carried out in the butt, split or side incision with the beginning of sap flow.

Without vaccination

All branches of a productive gooseberry variety are cut out, leaving the most powerful and not twisted shoot, which is tied to the driven peg. In the next season, the resulting lateral branches are periodically removed to a height of 80 cm from the ground, leaving a few upper ones. Over time, these shoots retain 4 branches and form a spherical crown by pruning with pruning shears. A rounded shape is given after the formation of 4-5 upper branches: the central trunk is shortened by 1/5 (the length of the annual growth), side shoots cut even shorter, trying to form a ball shape. For each subsequent formation, 4 pieces are left on the side shoots of the branches and shortened when they grow to 20 cm.

In the 4th year or the next, the gooseberry will acquire the right type standard tree.

In regions with unpredictable winters, it is better to plant plants not on open places, and in the fall take care of the simplest shelters for wintering - mulch the trunk, carry out hilling and cover it with spruce branches.

Successfully standard gooseberry We still practice it in the south; other regions have recently begun to be cultivated, by small communities of enthusiasts and on individual farms. Therefore, it is better to provide for the wintering of plants and prepare them individually, for example, by making the same frame shelters that are used to protect rose bushes.

The coldest air stays above the snow layer, a little higher it is warmer - therefore, the height of the tree’s crown must be shaped, focusing on the winters of your region. If the January snow cover is usually 40 cm, then the stem-former is grafted with a cutting into a conductor 80-90 cm from the ground surface.

Perhaps the measure is unnecessary, but Europeans practice this way with southern varieties gooseberries, trying to bring the leafy part of the tree to the zone of optimal microclimate.

Red currants and its subspecies (pink, white) are better formed into a standard than. Its shoots are stronger, straighter and the berry production of red currants lasts longer.

For the initial development of standard gooseberries or currants, it is better for the gardener to practice with a couple of bushes, and “not let the entire berry garden fall under the pruning shears.”

See you later, friends!

Main advantages:

• a standard bush decorated with fruits, surrounded by flowers, looks very attractive;
• the likelihood of damage to fruits and leaves by powdery mildew is reduced;
• the berries grow almost one and a half times larger than usual;
• it is more convenient to care for such bushes;
• it is easier to weed the tree trunks;
• carry out treatment with plant protection products;
• harvest.

Standard forms of gooseberries can even be planted in dense borders at a distance of 0.6-1 m from each other.

However, such plants require more attention:

• you need to constantly remove root shoots and shoots on the trunk;
• The yield is significantly reduced compared to the conventional bush form;
• V northern regions In Ukraine, the possibility of frost damage to insufficiently frost-resistant varieties is increasing;
• the likelihood of loss of variety due to damage by currant glass increases. After all, the life of a bush depends on a single shoot - the trunk.

Our advice:

To overcome insufficient winter hardiness and susceptibility to glass, I consider it advisable to use a gooseberry standard (of the same variety), but not yoshta, red and golden, and especially black currant, as is often suggested.

All of them are very susceptible to damage by the malicious pest - currant glass. It damages gooseberries much less frequently.

Even if the trunk turns out to be affected by this pest or the crown freezes, they can always be restored due to the varietal shoots that grow annually near the trunk.

Using gooseberries to form a trunk also reduces labor costs, since they have root growth grows much weaker than that of yoshta, red or golden currant.

It must be borne in mind that not all varieties of gooseberries are capable of driving the trunk to the required height in one season.

Some low-growing varieties - Legin, Ural emerald, Chelyabinsk pink - cannot do this at all. For them I use the gooseberry standard Black Negus.

What care is needed after planting the rootstock?

After planting the rootstock on permanent place it needs to be provided with constant watering and care (removing all side shoots and tying it to a support - a pipe, fittings, wrapped in fabric, up to 1.5 m high.

By the time budding is performed, it reaches a height of more than one and a half meters and a diameter sufficient to perform the operation without any problems.

When should budding be carried out?

I usually perform budding at the end of August. But the timing may change.

Vaccinations performed one to two weeks earlier are also successful. I carry out budding with a shield at the butt, behind the bark (the same as on all fruit crops).

The height of the budding depends on the selected height of the stem.

Our advice:

When tying, I cover the shields completely with film. I place 3-4 shields with different sides shoots of the rootstock, at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other. I remove the harness after 2-3 weeks. In early spring I cut the rootstock above the topmost budding.

Is it necessary to form a gooseberry bush?

After the grafted shoots grow, I remove all leaves and thorns on the rootstock. I don’t let them germinate all summer, I remove the root growth that appears.

If desired, it can be used as additional rootstocks for new varieties (to do this, young shoots must be covered with moist soil and separated in the fall).

Removal of shoots is mandatory throughout the life of the plant. After the grafted shoots grow to 20 cm, I remove their growth points in order to stimulate branching of the shoots in the same year. Further formation depends on your imagination.

How to grow gooseberries on your own trunk?

It is easier to grow gooseberries on your own trunk. The first year is spent on forcing the trunk, which I form in the same way as described above.

In the spring of the second year, I cut off the shoot at the height of crown formation. Below the cut I leave 3-4 buds, located on different sides at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other, and remove the rest.

All vigorous varieties of gooseberries are capable of driving the stem to the required height: Neslukhovsky, Kamenyar, Ruby pendant, Plum, Seedling Plum, etc.

Our advice:

When growing gooseberries on a trunk, it is very important to choose the right variety.

They look very impressive in standard form large-fruited varieties: Chelyabinsk pink, Dessert, Defender, Grossular, Neslukhovsky, Kamenyar, Yarovoy, Ruby pendant, Plum seedling, Salute, Plum, Prune plum and others.

It is not advisable to experiment with small-grade varieties, since in standard form they are inconspicuous.

How to vaccinate gooseberries?

When growing gooseberries on a trunk, you can use grafting in the butt, side cut, T-shaped cut and split.

To do this, gooseberry cuttings are prepared in the fall or cut immediately before grafting, depending on the time of grafting.

Select the scion and rootstock to match each other in thickness. Vaccination is carried out in February-March.

Rooted cuttings of rootstocks are stored in cold basements from the fall, after grafting until the scion and rootstock grow together - in a room with a temperature of 18-23 ° C, and then before planting - in a cool room.

Our advice:

Vaccination can be done directly on mother bush rootstock in August, if you first form a bush for propagation by vertical layering.

It should be grafted with an almost lignified cutting at the butt. By autumn, such a scion takes root, and the bush with already grafted gooseberry cuttings is usually divided.

It can be grafted into the cleft in the spring, before the growing season begins, and in August.

Leonid Prokazin, nurseryman, Poltava region, Mirgorod
© Ogorodnik magazine
Photo: depositphotos.com

Our dacha

In addition, bushes formed on stems are easily ventilated and are less at risk of contracting diseases. And if you cover the soil around the trunk with light-proof mulching material (for example, roofing felt, spunbond, black film), you can get rid of weeding. But are there any downsides to this culture? Not without that.

Firstly, the technology for producing seedlings is complex and requires long, painstaking work. Therefore, few of them are grown and, of course, they are always more expensive than ordinary annuals. The most common growing method berry bushes on the stems consists of next stages. First, ordinary standard seedlings are grown over several years to create powerful plants. Then the entire above-ground part is cut off. Of the mass of shoots that appeared after this, one, the strongest, is left. In the spring of next year, all the buds on this stem are removed, except for the top 5-6. From the resulting shoots, skeletal branches of the future crown (bush) are laid.

Secondly, if ordinary gooseberry bushes can be covered with snow in winter, then bushes on boles are above the snow cover in the most frost-hazardous zone. In this regard, it is important to carefully select varieties in relation to specific local conditions. Our long-term tests in the conditions of the North-West of Russia showed that the well-known varieties Smena, Russian Yellow, Russian Red, and Le-fora Seedling had no damage after harsh winters and bore fruit abundantly, and annual growth high-yielding variety Kolobok froze not only on golden currant trunks, but also in the queen cell on ordinary bushes.

Another method of producing standard gooseberry seedlings is based on grafting the variety onto a golden currant stem. Such seedlings were grown in Russia more than a century and a half ago. But gradually they forgot about him. The fact is that in the garden the rootstock itself forms a mass of growth and it takes a lot of effort and time to systematically remove it. Currently, the culture of grafted gooseberries is being revived again thanks to breeders who have developed rootstock forms that do not produce shoots. This method has its positive and negative sides. Thus, the production time of grafted seedlings is reduced to 2 years in comparison with the first method, which requires 4 to 5 years.

The technological chain consists of the following links. In a special rootstock, annual growths up to one and a half meters high are grown, they are rooted and the top part is grafted with a variety. However, some varieties show signs of insufficient compatibility. In addition, the development phenophases of gooseberries and golden currants often do not coincide. This affects the survival rate of the graft components. The varieties mentioned above turned out to be quite productive even in the grafted culture.

It should be noted that the first method is used when growing standard red currants, and the second - roses on rose hips, Japanese quince on pear seedlings. The technique of planting seedlings is usual. A strong stake is driven into the bottom of the planting hole, which is best used as metal pipes or fittings. To level and give a vertical position, the trunks are tied to a stake in several places. In this case, not only the stem, but also the bush is fixed to the support with the upper garter.

The formation of a bush consists of creating a compact crown by pruning and evenly distributing branches around the center (trunk). Annual growth is shortened, the growing shoots are directed to the sides, free from branches, and tied to the part of the stake protruding above the bush.

Plant care is almost ordinary, typical for the gooseberry breed. Some amateur gardeners plant low-growing annual flowers or groundcover perennials next to standard gooseberries (outside the mulch circle). As experience has shown, such a neighborhood does not harm any of them.

The lifespan of standard forms is short, less than 10-12 years, and besides, plants on a standard require constant care.

For more details see: http://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/4061/ (Science and life, NOTE FOR GARDENERS. ABSTRACTS. FEBRUARY 2006 No. 2)

2 Tip Source - http://vodospad.kiev.ua/

A standard gooseberry is obtained by grafting a valuable variety into a golden currant standard (in Lately- and yoshty; as a standard-former, yoshta grows faster, does not produce shoots, but is less drought- and frost-resistant). The standard is grown for 1-2 years from lignified (or green) cuttings, vertical layering or offspring that golden currants are capable of producing.

Lignified cuttings (20-22 cm long, with 5-6 buds) are cut in the fall (September - October 15) with their subsequent planting, or at the end of winter with storage in the cold, in a moist substrate, until the onset of warm days.

Cuttings cut in winter before planting are kept in water for 5-6 days, after planting they are covered with film until the buds begin to bloom. In the future they create optimal conditions for their good growth. The desired thickness of the trunk is 5-6 mm, height 100-120 cm.

Varieties with straight, strong shoots ( Neslukhovsky, Donetsk first-born ) are grafted onto a standard at a height of 80-100 cm, and with arched ones (Krasen, Date) - at a height of 130-150 cm. The latter look especially elegant, resembling a miniature weeping willow.

Vaccination is carried out different ways: in winter in a greenhouse, in spring and summer in open ground . However, it is best to graft gooseberries in early spring at a temperature of 10ºC when plants enter the growing season. The best way- improved copulation.

The thickness of the scion cuttings should correspond to the thickness of the rootstock. Cuttings are harvested in winter and stored in the cold (can be stored as recommended for stone fruits by L.I. Taranenko in “Dachnik” No. 2). The cuttings are grafted from 3 buds, the cuts are made long, even, 4-5 times longer than the thickness. The spikes are cut off for ease of work.

After about a month, the harness is loosened and later removed. The rootstock is tied to a peg, and the next year the scion is also tied (for this purpose it is convenient to use rubber strips from a bicycle inner tube, tying with a “figure eight”).

The grafting can also be performed in the summer (July - September) during the separation of the bark. Cuttings are taken from plants at the same time, fully matured, removing leaves and thorns. Above the 3rd bud, the lateral graft is shortened and performed according to all the rules.

On the trunk, emerging shoots are systematically pinched. The rest of the rootstock is cut off in August, and the cut area is covered with varnish. When the shoots on the scion reach a length of 10 cm, they are pinched to create a crown.

The grafting can also be done by budding with an eye with a piece of wood in July-August.

The crown of the standard gooseberry is formed round or slightly drooping. The grown branches are shortened by half every year for three years. In the future, the old ones are cut out and thinned out. With proper care, plants can produce a harvest of beautiful, tasty and large berries and bear fruit for 10 years.

In the Czech Republic and Hungary, standard gooseberries are grown on industrial plantations using winter grafting. Such plants are less susceptible to diseases, soil cultivation, pruning and harvesting are simplified.

The berries on such trees are larger, better colored, and sweeter. In Poland it is grown in household plots, using budding, selecting for the rootstock best forms golden currants.

In the magazine “Home, Garden, Vegetable Garden” No. 3/93 by agronomist Karabut S.A. describes a method for growing gooseberries on your own low trunk. Its essence is as follows. Before planting, the seedling is left with the most strong escape, the rest are deleted.

The buds are also removed to a given height of the trunk (20-30 cm), 3-4 are left, the top is cut off. The following year in the spring, the developed branches are shortened by half, to a lateral or apical bud.

A bush that has 4 skeletal branches placed crosswise and 12-15 semi-skeletal ones is considered formed. Subsequently, in the summer (end of June), all growth of the current year is shortened to 4-5 leaves. Over the years, the skeletal branches are gradually rejuvenated by transfer to a well-developed semi-skeletal branch.

A trunk is a trunk formed from the root system to the first branch, formed on shrubs of various types.

The technology of growing gooseberries on a trunk came to us from Europe and quite quickly found its admirers in our latitudes. The advantages of this type of growing gooseberry bushes include:

• Convenience. The bush formed using a standard has attractive appearance. This is a kind of small tree with a short trunk. This shape really brings the design to life. garden plot and saves space.
• Harvesting. Picking berries from a bush on a trunk is much easier than from a conventional crop due to its total height, sometimes reaching up to 1.5 m.
• Care. Caring for the plant becomes easier and does not take much time.

In addition, gooseberries grown in this way are less susceptible to pests and diseases, again due to the high growth of the bush. But many novice gardeners are afraid to introduce such technologies into their farms, afraid of difficulties. But such troubles can be overcome with a competent approach to business.

Varieties for growing on a trunk

To grow standard gooseberries, you need to decide on the plant variety. These may be bushes with a weakly branching shoot structure. Among the main varieties of this type are:

• Generous. The variety produces medium height and a large number of shoots, has small 3-lobed foliage, blooms with large green-red inflorescences. The crop is medium in size, with a thin peel, and has a sweet and sour taste.
• Redball. Thornless culture with medium and large fruits, collected in brushes. The berries are dense and have the usual gooseberry flavor.
• Amber. The height of the bush can reach up to 2 m. The variety is early ripening with long fruiting and high yield. The fruits are sweet with a pronounced honey aroma.
• Krasnoslavyansky. The bush is medium-sized with high productivity. The berries are sour and round in shape, dark red in color.

In general, any variety of gooseberry that has 1-2 strong branches in the central part of the bush can be suitable for growing on a trunk. It is advisable to use seedlings, but a variety such as Seedling Lefora does well with this growing method.

Growing gooseberries on a trunk is not a matter of one year and consists mainly in correct pruning unnecessary escapes over time. So in the first year the young bush is not touched for good development root system. But caring for such a plant is still mandatory.

Young shrubs require feeding and watering in accordance with their varietal characteristics. The second year of the bush’s life also does not require any special action until harvest time. After harvesting the berries, the strongest shoot is selected, and the rest are removed at the root; this base will later become the trunk.

For proper growth of the stem part, it is necessary to thoroughly water the plant, quality fertilizer and to winter period When the main trunk gets stronger, tie it to a support. The support can be a strong board or a piece of reinforcement. In the future, for proper formation, annually trim excess shoots after harvesting.

When the plant has a dense trunk, you should think about the beauty of the crown. There may be options here; you can trim only old branches, taking into account the content general form, or you can just slightly align the crown to your liking.

Gooseberries on a trunk using grafting method

Standard gooseberries can also be obtained using the grafting method, but according to reviews from gardeners, with this method the gooseberries have a lower survival rate. The main activities of this method include:

• 1-2 summer currant plants should serve as a rootstock.
• Before grafting, the cuttings of the selected variety are subjected to complete removal thorns
• The grafting process is carried out in early spring at the height of the end of the trunk and the beginning of the future crown.
• Grafted bushes require systematic watering and removal of young shoots on the trunk.
• If necessary, replanting is carried out after harvesting in the autumn.
• When transplanting, a support with a size higher than the grafted site is hammered into the hole, and the bush is tied to it at the grafting site.
• Support is necessary for the entire period of life standard bush. It holds the crown and prevents branches from breaking off.
• Next, it remains to remove the emerging shoots on the trunk, and during pruning, correctly align the shoots in accordance with the desired crown shape.
• A crown that is too thick should be thinned out, and a sparse crown may require shortening the shoots.

Plant care does not change. Regular watering depending on the variety, loosening the soil and feeding the root system.

Harvesting

Many gardeners refuse standard cultivation of gooseberries, citing the small amount of harvest. This is the wrong approach. A high crown produces the same number of berries as a full-fledged bush, but with the condition of more convenient harvesting.

The plant is much taller, has no thorns, and is easier to approach due to the presence of a trunk. In this way, the harvest can be harvested better and faster. The berries are visible on the round crown and have no obstacles to picking.

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Standard gooseberries can be obtained in two ways - by growing them from your own rooted seedlings or by grafting them onto golden currants. Let's consider these methods in more detail.

Sharp long thorns that interfere with picking fruits and caring for the bush, branches located close to the ground on which the berries become contaminated, poor ventilation of the bush, leading to the occurrence of fungal diseases - gardeners face all these phenomena if they grow gooseberries in the form of a bush.

Many gardeners have already moved away from this tradition and grow gooseberries in a standard culture. Such “trees” not only provide good harvest large, brightly colored berries, but also make the garden more attractive.

Special formation

Using rooted seedlings proceed as follows. A year after planting, one upright, strong shoot is left in the bush, the rest are cut out at soil level. After another year, all side branches up to a height of 60 cm are removed, thus creating a trunk.

At the top of this trunk, 4-6 evenly spaced shoots are left, which are slightly shortened. Further pruning of the gooseberries is carried out so as to form a rounded crown with slightly hanging shoots of different ages.

Graft

Winter vaccination

Cuttings (strong annual gooseberry shoots) and rootstocks (1-2 year old golden currant seedlings) harvested in late autumn are stored in the basement at a temperature of 0-3°C in boxes with wet sand (peat, sawdust).

In February-March they are grafted using the improved copulation method, in the butt with a tongue or in the side cut. The grafting site is tightly tied with an elastic tape, and the cut on the cutting is coated with garden pitch.

The grafted plants are placed in a box filled with a mixture of peat and sand (1:1) and stored for 10-15 days at a temperature of 18-20°C. Then the boxes are transferred to a room with a temperature of 0-2°C until spring.

In early spring, seedlings are planted, lightly sprinkling the grafting site with soil (unplant after the plants have taken root well). When the shoots on the cuttings reach 8-10 cm, they are shortened, leaving 2-3 developed leaves to awaken the outer buds and form branches. Subsequently, shoots appearing in the bole zone, i.e. up to a height of 60 cm, plucked regularly.

Spring grafting

Gooseberry cuttings for spring vaccination harvested at the beginning of winter. Only well-developed annual shoots are taken. Until spring they are stored in the snow, and with the onset of warm days they are transferred to the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic film. When the buds begin to bloom on the golden currants, a gooseberry cutting is grafted onto the rootstock at a height of 0.5-0.7 m using the improved copulation method or behind the bark. The grafting site is tightly wrapped with polyethylene tape, and further pruning is carried out in the same way as indicated above.

Grafting gooseberries onto golden currants more labor-intensive, but worth all the effort, because Plants obtained in this way are characterized by increased drought resistance, vigorous growth and productivity.

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