Currant is quite a popular berry in our gardens. Every summer resident has at least a bush. Such popularity is due to the fact that this berry is incredibly he althy, tasty and fragrant. It is an invariable component of compotes, various jams, it is added to pastries, and also simply eaten raw. But in our gardens we are accustomed to seeing black currants, red, less often white. Almost everyone has them. But until now, few gardeners know about the existence of golden currants. Let's try to figure out why this particular species was left out.
Origin story
Golden currant is another representative of the Gooseberry family. She, like one hundred and fifty of her brothers, belongs to deciduous shrubs. It got its start in America and Canada. Now in these territories this shrub can be found in almost every yard. As far as Europe is concerned,this currant came here only in the eighteenth century. But even after receiving this plant, European gardeners considered it decorative for some time and planted it exclusively to decorate the site.
And also this species was a frequent inhabitant of the botanical garden. This was due to the presence of beautiful and fragrant flowers, as well as unusual leaves. But over time, breeders from Russia began to breed this plant. Thanks to such a great scientist as Michurin, currants became widespread in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It was he who was able to bring out the first variety of this plant, which became fundamental for all subsequent ones. In Russia, this berry was planted along forest belts, and such plantings have survived to this day.
Description of golden currant
This is primarily a deciduous shrub that branches weakly. It consists of fairly flexible shoots that can reach a height of three meters. These figures significantly exceed the size of the usual red or black currant, which can be found in every garden in Russia.
This species has one central stem which is the source of most of the other shoots. In general, the bush consists of many stems of different ages. Almost every one of them bears fruit. Shoots are slightly red, some of them may be slightly hairy.
Plus is the rather rapid growth of the shrub. In one season, he can add up to forty centimeters. This is due to the fact that this currant has quitestrong root system. In general, it is fibrous and the main part is close to the surface. However, the main root can go up to two meters deep.
This currant has rather small leaves, only five centimeters long, especially when compared with more common species. Its leaves are more reminiscent of gooseberry leaves. They are colored green. But the main feature of this shrub is its flowers. It is because of their golden color that he got his name. The flowers are quite small, have a tubular shape, collected in inflorescences. One inflorescence can have from five to fifteen flowers. But what is more valued here is not their appearance, a beautiful shade, but the aroma that will not leave anyone indifferent. This flavor also makes the currant a very valuable honey plant.
Shrub blooms quite early, one of the first. Flowers appear even before the leaves, and this happens somewhere in mid-April. But the berries appear only after forty-five days. They can have a different color: from yellow to black. But each of them is not only very tasty, but also incredibly useful. Good fruiting depends on whether there is another such bush nearby - this is a prerequisite. This shrub always gives a good harvest. If there is at least one adult bush on your site, then you can collect about seven kilograms of berries from it.
Reproduction
There are several ways to propagate golden currant, and each of them is good in its own way. Therefore, if you want your site to have as much as possiblemore such shrubs, you can choose the most suitable method for yourself and use it. Next, we will try to analyze each of them as detailed as possible.
Cutting
One of the simplest and most reliable ways is propagation by lignified cuttings. You can find them on almost every bush and choose the most suitable for yourself.
It all starts with the preparation of future planting material. Cuttings are cut in August from last year's shoots. The length of each handle cannot be less than twenty-five centimeters and more than thirty. Each cutting must have live buds. Prepared cuttings can be planted in autumn or spring. However, for the second method, they must be prepared. Cut cuttings are sealed with paraffin and wrapped in damp paper, after which they are also wrapped in polyethylene. The resulting bundles are stored until spring under a layer of snow right on the street.
In the spring they are taken out and cut off the lower part of the cutting at an angle of forty-five degrees, and then lowered into the soil at the same angle. You can plant cuttings in containers, or you can directly into open ground, but on a pre-prepared site. The distance from one seedling to another cannot be less than fifteen centimeters, otherwise they will not be able to develop normally. Almost the entire body of the cutting goes into the ground and only 2 he althy buds remain above the ground. After planting, the beds must be watered, and a layer of sawdust mulch is also laid out. If you planted cuttings directly into open ground, then this area must be covered with a film. You can take it offwill only happen when two leaves appear on the seedlings.
Caring for golden currant seedlings is not too difficult. It is enough just to water and ventilate them in time, as well as loosen the soil after each watering and remove weeds, if any. As for fertilizers, a mullein solution will suffice. In autumn, your cuttings will already reach a height of fifty centimeters and will even have several new shoots. If among them you notice especially strong ones, then they can be safely transplanted to a permanent place.
Propagation by green cuttings
Reproduction by green cuttings is a little different. They can take root either in a greenhouse or in special soil bags. For rooting, cuttings that were cut not from the top of the shoot, but from its middle, are suitable. Each of them should have at least two green leaves, and the length should be ten centimeters. After cutting, the cuttings are placed in water for two weeks. During this time, roots should appear on them approximately one centimeter long.
During this time, you can prepare special bags with soil in which you need to make holes for excess fluid to escape. After two weeks, green germinated cuttings are planted in these packages. Remember that before planting the ground must be well moistened. During the first ten days, the planted cuttings should be watered so abundantly that the soil in the bag resembles sour cream in consistency. On the eleventh day, watering should be substantiallycut.
Under such conditions, the cuttings germinate until May. During this period, they can reach a height of sixty centimeters. And in May, they can be safely removed from the packages and sent to the garden. Here they need to be deepened a little more than it was before landing in open ground.
Where to plant?
Experienced gardeners assure that golden currants can grow almost anywhere. She will feel quite normal in the sun or in the shade, she will not be offended at all if you plant a bush on a flat area or on a hill. Quite often this plant is used as a hedge.
Unpretentiousness is also preserved in relation to the soil, but the harvest will be richer if you pick up a plot with fertile soil. Try not to choose a site where the currant will be in the lowland. Since in such places too much moisture usually accumulates or groundwater occurs, and the golden currant does not like this very much. Try to prepare the site in advance, preferably six months before the preliminary landing. Wood ash should be scattered over the surface of the soil, and then dug to a depth of forty centimeters.
As for the holes, their depth should be sixty centimeters, and the length and width - fifty. Planting golden currants is carried out in prepared holes, which must be filled with humus, superphosphate, wood ash, mixed with fertile soil. The root neck of the plant should go five centimeters underearth. After planting, it is necessary to immediately make abundant watering, and then mulch the entire root zone with peat.
If you organize care for the golden currant according to all the rules of agricultural technology, then the harvest will appear next year.
Irrigation
Once a week it is necessary to water the bushes that were planted this year. More mature individuals need abundant watering only during the period when berries are formed on them. Pay special attention to your currants if the summer is hot. If it does not receive enough moisture, then the harvest will be poor, and the berries will not be tasty and juicy enough.
Loosening
Sawdust or peat is best used as mulch. They are laid out in the root zone of each bush. And also the cultivation of golden currant provides for the loosening of the soil between the rows. This is especially necessary in the autumn and spring periods. In five years, shrubs grow quite strongly and no longer need loosening and weeding.
Feeding
If you want to get a good harvest from your golden currant bushes, then do not be lazy in spring and autumn to fertilize the soil for them. In the spring, it is best to use nitrogen fertilizers, and also pour a solution prepared from bird droppings under each bush during irrigation. In autumn, it is better to use superphosphate, wood ash and humus.
Cutting
For golden currant pruning- this is a mandatory care item, as for any other shrub. It is best to prune in the spring, because after winter there are many damaged, frostbitten or broken branches that the shrub does not need at all, but such pruning can also be done in the fall. In the same period, it is recommended to remove all root growth that interferes with the development of the main bush. You can leave only the most powerful shoots, which can then serve as planting material. Anti-aging pruning is also carried out, but quite rarely, only once every twelve years.
Pests and diseases
The currant of this species almost never gets sick. There is a risk of rust, gray mold or septoria only if the gardener could not organize the proper care of the shrub. If you find the presence of such diseases, then the damaged parts of the plant should be immediately removed and destroyed, and the bush should be treated with copper sulphate or Bordeaux liquid. These drugs can also be used as a prophylaxis. As for pests, aphids are considered the most terrible enemy. Insecticides join the fight against it.
