As you're really getting into pruning you might find 'How to Prune by John Cushnie' helpful - it really is the best book on pruning that I'm aware of and is my bible. *Valid on standard one-day tickets only, transaction fee applies. Water well during dry spells. Regular pruning of bush fruits like gooseberries and blackcurrants is essential to get the best harvests. Back-fill around the rootball with soil, firm down, then water in well. Blueberries don’t need any pruning for the first two years. A gardener’s advice. In winter, when you should do the main prune, cut back branch leaders of established bushes by half their new growth. It's available on Amazon, second hand copies go for very reasonable amounts. Training Gooseberry Bushes . How to winter-prune gooseberries and redcurrants, How to grow redcurrants and whitecurrants, ‘Careless’ – large fruits that turn transparent when ripe, ‘Invicta’ – green cooker, big crops, mildew resistant, ‘Leveller’ – yellow dessert variety with delicious flavour, ‘Whitesmith’ – a dessert/cooker with white fruits. Pruning is easy. In winter, prune this year’s growth to four buds from the base after fruiting. Pruning Gooseberries. This makes the fruit easier to pick from the thorny stems. Gooseberries aren’t fussy when it comes to soil type, but they do prefer it to be well drained and contain plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost. Be inspired by stunning show gardens, and the beautiful floral marquee, plus live talks and more. All you need to know about growing delicious gooseberries, in our detailed Grow Guide. Choose 5 of the strongest and thickest-looking stems coming off the main stem of the bush. Pruning gooseberries. Mulch the surface to keep weeds at bay. Aim to produce a framework of well-spaced branches that carry fruiting spurs along their length. Then train them in a fan shape against a wall, fence or free-standing trellis. In midsummer, cut back all sideshoots to two or three leaves from the base. Space them 1.5m apart with a gap of 1.5m between the rows. We explain how to do it. Gooseberry plants are susceptible to mildew. Good management means keeping the centre open to air and sunlight, leaving a … They’re easy to grow, and just a single bush will reward you with masses of berries for up to 15 years. Gooseberries freeze well. Water well during dry spells. Dessert varieties are delicious in fresh fruit salads. Be inspired by stunning show gardens, and the beautiful floral marquee, plus live talks and more. Rare and highly sought after, Hyacinth 'Midnight Mystic'® is the first and original black hyacinth. Continue to water regularly. Start pruning year-one gooseberry bushes in the early spring. Highly-scented, it was launched to a frenzy of interest at the Chelsea Flower Show 2005. Aim to create a bowl shape, keeping the centre of the bushes open to allow light and sun etc. From the team at Gardeners' World Magazine. As they fruit on old and new wood, the more you pune the less fruit you will have. Bush fruit such as currants and gooseberries grow in a conventional, shrub-like fashion, with new shoots sprouting from their branches. 0. Remove any new growth that is crowding the centre of your bushes and cut back the new shoots you wish to … Pruning is easy. Prune gooseberry bushes annually to maintain a goblet shape and mulch in autumn with well-rotted compost, manure or leaf mould. Make the cut above the bud at a slant to channel water away and avoid rotting the bud. Simply, top and tail them before cooking. Many gardeners dread fruit pruning for fear it is complicated but there are a couple of simple rules that make things easier. Gooseberries can be cooked in pies or stewed to make purées, jams and chutneys. Prune red- and whitecurrants as you would gooseberries, as they produce fruit on sideshoots made the previous year.