A mandatory procedure in terms of caring for fruit crops in the fall is pruning. Not only fruit trees and ornamental plants need to be pruned, but also berry bushes..
Let’s remind you which bushes need to be pruned in September and how to do it correctly..
The benefits of autumn pruning
It is believed that autumn pruning is more gentle and does not have a negative impact on the harvest.
Although this is a mandatory stage of care, any pruning causes stress in plants.
The thing is that in the spring it is necessary to do it before the sap starts to flow, otherwise the plant will spend energy on healing wounds, which will affect the yield.
In the fall, pruning is carried out after fruiting and before the onset of cold weather, bushes and trees have time to cope with the effects of stress.
How to prune
1. The best time is the end of September. If you start earlier, new shoots may begin to grow, and it will be more difficult for the bush to survive the winter.
2. Only sharp and sterile pruning tools are used.
3. During this period, sanitary and rejuvenating pruning is carried out.
Which bushes to prune
This procedure is considered mandatory for black currants. Pruning is done on five-year-old bushes that have yielded a good harvest in the current season.
On red currants, it is not recommended to touch one-year-old shoots. Pruning is carried out annually, taking into account that 3-4 new strong shoots remain.
It is also important to prune blackberries, but here everything is simple – remove all the shoots that interfere.
Gooseberries – remove branches older than six years, and also shorten the top.
Raspberry pruning is mandatory – remove the shoots that yielded a harvest this year.
