Depending on the condition of the plant, various pruning methods can be applied. Popular white currant varieties are Blanka, Primus, and White Imperial. Height – 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 m) Exposure – full sun Soil – ordinary. Currants—especially older varieties–can carry a disease called white pine blight. Redcurrant pruning in autumn By using our site, you agree to our. I favoured the redcurrant at home as a child, as I could more easily and secretly pick a small handful – rather than black currants. Winter! Remember to apply fertilizer in the spring. Trimming the newer stems will help encourage growth and give you a bushier plant. ", "As an 84 year old novice, I found all I wanted to know. Leucothoe - rarely, and if so, just to shape - in early spring. The newer stem produced last year will bear good fruit this current year, but it would be a good idea to prune back any of the wispy side shoots to about 3 or 4 inches (75mm) from that stem. Caterpillars from the Gooseberry Sawfly will soon strip a bush of much of its foliage. The pruning can either be a general trim back to shape - but bear in mind that growth will be quite rapid after pruning, so a light prune might not be enough. If it still looks dead or diseased, trim it further. If you don't do this, you risk transferring the infection. Initially the leaders [main stems] can be shortened by up to one third to any outwardly facing bud. In late autumn or winter, after leaf fall, prune back the same side shoots to one or two buds. Name – Ribes sanguineum Family – Grossulariaceae Type – shrub. Also, the bushes themselves are quite overgrown (I forgot to prune them last year) and basically the whole lot is a mess. Fruit buds on red currant are laid mainly on the tip of the shoots. I have a bed approx 15ft x 4ft and it's full of currant bushes, a mixture of black, red and white. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a4\/Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg\/aid10067784-v4-728px-Prune-Red-Currants-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"