How to plant gooseberries: 4 ways for summer, spring and autumn

Gooseberry is one of the most common berry plants in Russian dachas and gardens. Experienced summer residents know four ways of its reproduction, which allows them to choose the one that is best suited for a particular situation and season. We will tell you more about each method.

Choosing the right time

In general, the procedure for breeding gooseberries is not too difficult: having studied the theory, even a beginner can handle it. The following breeding options are used:

• layering,
• cuttings,
• branches,
• dividing the bush.

The grower chooses the method based on his own preferences and skills and the current season. The last factor, not least of all, depends on how successfully the plant will take root in a new place, grow and give a crop.

According to experts, in the spring it is better to choose a method of propagation by layering. This should be done immediately after the ground has finally warmed up and the danger of night frosts has passed. At the same time, there is no need to hesitate: all the work should be done before the growing season begins.

Experienced gardeners try to plant green cuttings in early summer - in June, at the very beginning of July. Lignified cuttings are planted in the fall - they are older and therefore differ in vitality. The main thing is that the stems have time to take root before the first frost.

If you decide to divide a bush or root a branch, then this is done both in spring and autumn. In the first case, this must be done before the buds have time to swell, and in the second, immediately after the end of the leaf fall.

As you can see, the choice is really great and for any warm season you can choose exactly the one that seems most suitable for you.

Using horizontal layers

Most often, young, strong bushes at the age of three to four years are used for this method. During the season, one bush gives a dozen layers or even more. Moreover, with a careful attitude, each of them will take root and eventually turn into an independent bush. So the grower can easily turn one plant into a whole plantation.

You should start preparing planting material in advance - in early to mid-April, long before the buds have blossomed.

How to root gooseberry layering:

1. First of all, choose the right number of basal shoots - annuals, located on different sides of the bush.
2. Dig furrows near them - long and narrow, the optimal depth is about 10 centimeters.
3. After that, lay the shoots into these grooves, fix with wooden pins and carefully remove the tops.
4. It is not necessary to fill up with earth immediately - this will have to be done a little later.
5. Wait until green shoots appear on the layers and reach a height of about 5 centimeters - this will happen in summer.
6. At this point, lightly sprinkle with earth.
7. After waiting for the height of young shoots to reach 10-15 centimeters, boldly spud them, falling asleep to the top. The optimal time for this is after a heavy rain, when the soil is saturated with moisture.
8. Continue grooming all summer by regularly scooping up the soil to the layers. If the weather is dry, do not forget to water the daughter plants. It will not be superfluous to add a small amount of ammonium nitrate and potassium salt.

By the fall, the layers will grow enough and get stronger, acquire their own root system. After that, calmly cut them off to plant in the prepared place.If you do all the work correctly, then in the spring each layer will turn into a young seedling, which in three to four years will become a plentifully fruiting bush.

This method of vegetative propagation is one of the simplest and safest.

Propagation by cuttings

Have you seen an interesting variety of gooseberries from neighbors or just acquaintances and would like to get the same plant on your own plot? In this case, grafting may be the best solution. The main thing is to choose a young and strong bush for collecting planting material. It should not hurt or bear traces of insect damage.

Advice
It is not advisable to consider old bushes (over 10 years old) as uterine: cuttings from them, as a rule, root poorly.

Planting lignified cuttings

As a cutting, you should choose not the first branch that comes across:

• the most suitable length is 15-20 centimeters,
• there must be at least four buds on the branch.

Start grafting in the fall:

1. Stepping back from the lower bud about one to two centimeters, carefully cut the branch. This should be done with a good pruner or sharp knife so that the cut is clean and even, and not worn out. You should not cut obliquely, but straight. After that, we proceed to landing.
2. On a bed prepared in advance, abundantly fertilized with compost, make a small but deep hole and plant the cutting there.
3. It is advisable to deepen the shoot well - so that only one bud rises above the surface. The seedling should be placed not perpendicular to the ground, but with a slight slope.
4. To protect against the first winter frosts, when there is still not enough snow, use agrofibre or just fallen leaves.
5. In the spring, it is important to provide the cuttings with good care - to loosen, water, and protect from weeds in a timely manner.
6. By the fall, a long shoot will stretch out of it.
7. The next spring, you need to cut it off, leaving a couple of buds. Then the bush will actively grow to the sides, take root and form a healthy crown.

Planting green cuttings

If you prefer to deal with green or semi-lignified cuttings, then harvest the material in early summer. Choose branches that have two or more leaves.

Advice
The best time to harvest is early morning or late evening. During these hours, the most moisture in the shoots.

Procedure:

1. Dilute the root growth stimulant in advance.
2. Stepping back from the lower leaves, make a cut - not straight, but obliquely, at about 45 degrees. Dip the cuttings into the stimulator. Read the exact time how long the material will last on the packaging of your product. Usually 8 hours is sufficient.
3. Plant the cuttings in a fertile greenhouse. It is not necessary to deeply deepen - a few centimeters are enough.
4. Water abundantly and protect from cold winds as well as excess sun. It is best to cover the planting with opaque cellophane.
5. After the shoots appear, start hardening. Remove the cellophane daily for several hours, and only after a month remove it completely.
6. Close to autumn, pinch the top so that the plant develops in different directions.
7. Finally, in the spring, before the buds bloom, remove the future bush from the greenhouse along with a clod of earth and plant it in a place where it will grow in the future.

As you can see, it is not at all difficult to grow a new gooseberry bush from a twig, although the procedure takes quite a lot of time.

Divide the bush

Usually the method is used more for rejuvenating the bush than for planting. If the gooseberry has been growing in one place for more than ten years, then, as a rule, the yield decreases. In this case, it should be rejuvenated by division, at the same time turning it into several bushes.

The technology is as simple as possible and consists of several steps:

1. Dig up the bush and flush the soil off the roots - easiest way is with a hose.
2. Decide exactly where the split will be. Please note that each part must have several shoots, as well as part of the roots, otherwise the daughter plants will die.
3. Divide the rhizome into several pieces using a sharp knife. If it is too hard, it is best to use a sharpened ax or clean shovel.
4. Having prepared a new place and covered it with compost or chernozem, immediately root the planting material, water abundantly and spud.
5. After planting, it is advisable to shorten the branches by about a third with a secateurs.

The division has only one minus - the infection can get into an open wound on the roots, and this will lead to illness or even death of the plant. Therefore, it is worth treating the cut with fine wood ash for prevention.

If the procedure is carried out correctly and accurately, then in a year the gooseberry will bring a fairly rich harvest.

We transplant branches with a part of the root

In general, the procedure is quite similar to division, it is used mainly when you need to quickly propagate gooseberries.

A mature and strong bush is required - from five years old and older:

1. Examine the plant and select a suitable branch - it must be strong, have several branches and still grow on the edge of the bush.
2. Now, very carefully separate it from the main bush along with a piece of root system. To do this, you need to shake off the ground, exposing the roots on one side. If it was found that the roots are weak here, then it is better not to use them for transplanting, choosing another branch, and here carefully sprinkle the root system with earth.
3. Use a sharp shovel to separate some of the roots with a sturdy branch. It is advisable to dig in the ground so that some of the soil remains on the roots - this contributes to the early germination in a new place.
4. Immediately after planting, pour plenty of water over the gooseberry, then spud it, filling it about 20-25 cm.

Now, knowing everything about the different ways of breeding gooseberries, you can easily choose the one that is right for you. This means that you will always harvest a rich harvest of these sweet, tasty and healthy berries in the fall, delighting yourself and your loved ones. Good luck with your work and blooming garden!