Horticultural Gardening Tips/Fruit bushes

Fruit bushes

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Blackcurrant

Plant deeply to encourage plant to put out new shoots from the base. Chop very old stems (>4 years) during late summer. Chop up pruned bits into 15 cm lengths and plant as cuttings - burying at least 5cm in moist soil outdoors. Cuttings are fully hardy, will drop leaves in autumn and will re-sprout in spring. WIll fruit during following year. Move bushes only in winter. If moving in summer, move during cold, rainy, cloudy weather. Stand bush in water (add liquid fertiliser) whilst moving. Lightly prune large roots to encourage root branching/new smaller roots. Pull out all traces of weeds and their roots - especially bindweed roots (white spaghetti/noodle resembling roots). Fill new hole with water, plant, drench soil with water and water well for following month. Mulch soil around moved plant and prevent weeds. Consider shaing plant from direct sunlight for a month.

Gojiberry

Grows fast. 10cm stalk reaches 40 to 50cm 3 months later. Cuttings root very easily. Drought tolerant. Slugs very troublesome but plant responds very quickly. Cuttings root very easily - multiply.

Gooseberry

Grow as cordon to make picking fruit easier. Over-ripe fruit on bush become sweet enough to eat raw without sugar. Red varieties seem sweeter. Cuttings: root very easily if planted in August in moist garden soil, fully hardy, sprouting in spring. Will fruit by 2nd year. Protect from birds using net laid over bottles inverted into bamboos stuck in the ground. When planting in fruit cages ensure netting doesn't blow and get snagged on the plant's spines - use non-blowing wire netting - not string/nylon netting.

Juneberry

Prune to keep bushy. Grows fast. Rabbits and slugs very destruictive to foliage. Foliage regrows throughout summer. Protect birds from fruit. Cuttings root well.

Raspberry

Avoid waterlogged ground or, when growing in pots avoid overwatering - they quickly die when standing in soggy soil. Ensure plating area is totally bindweed free - bindweed loves growing throiugh their roots. Weed killers damage raspberry foliage very easily. Spray foliage with seaweed solution, dissolved phostrogen and magnesium if leaves go yellow. Autumn fruitng raspeberries: better than summer types. Chop autumn fruiting varieties to ground in January. Summer fruiting: canes give fruit in second year (during July) then die. Chop down canes when fruiting has finished. Foliage yellows and looks manky in 2nd year. Summer fruiting raspberries need staking. Autumn ones don't. Birds: Big problem for summer fruiting types but not for Autumn types. Cover with net or grow in fruit cage.