Rules for propagating gooseberries by cuttings, layering and dividing the bush

To propagate a gooseberry bush, it is not at all necessary to purchase a new plant. You can grow new planting material yourself using simple methods. This process will not cause much trouble if you know how to propagate gooseberries correctly. This plant has a unique ability for rooted growth. The shoots, as soon as they are covered with soil, begin the rapid formation of adventitious roots. They grow quickly, creating a root mass that will fully satisfy the gardener's requirements. To create several bushes of the plant yourself, you need to know how gooseberries reproduce.

Gooseberry propagation is carried out using the following methods:

• planting seeds;
• dividing the bush;
• gooseberry cuttings;
• propagation of gooseberries by layering;
• vaccination.

Gooseberry plant

Horizontal layering

This method of propagating gooseberries is perhaps one of the most reliable and effective. It is preferable to practice this method of gooseberry propagation in October.

In the spring you can also lay cuttings, but this must be done very early, even before the buds open and while there is still enough moisture in the ground (late March - mid-April).

We choose a healthy gooseberry bush, approximately 5-6 years old, take several well-developed branches aged from 1 to 3 years, which are lowest to the ground.

On the branches, first of all, we cut off annual growths by 1/3 of their length. This operation will promote better germination of lateral buds and the formation of strong shoots with well-developed roots.

Then, after pruning, we bend the branches to the ground and lay them in the grooves that we prepared in advance, and pin them tightly with metal or wooden hooks.

We fill the furrows with branches laid in them with fertile soil, water and mulch.

Next, don’t forget to periodically weed, water and feed. And soon the axillary buds on the branched branches begin to grow and vertically growing shoots form.

After the young shoots reach a length of 8-10 cm, they need to be hilled, and after two weeks the hilling is repeated.

At the end of September, we separate a branch with well-rooted shoots from the mother plant with pruning shears, dig it up and cut it based on the number of rooted shoots.

Then we sort them, shorten the roots, and cut the shoots to ¼ length. I recommend not to plant these shoots immediately in a permanent place, but to plant them for growing and in a year we will get excellent viable seedlings with 3-4 shoots and well-developed roots 30-50 cm long.

The main disadvantage of this method of reproduction is its high labor intensity. But at the same time, it is the most reliable when propagating European varieties.

Reproduction by shoots

This is the most “humane” and non-traumatic way to propagate gooseberries. It consists of timely planting of young shoots that naturally form around the bush.

It is best to carry out in the fall after the end of seasonal work. Young shoots are carefully separated from the mother plant and transferred to a new location. It is best to fill the area from which the shoots were dug up with well-rotted compost to improve the composition of the soil under the old bush.

Important: if large berries are expected from the bush, young shoots must be removed systematically. An overgrown bush degenerates and gets sick, and harvesting from it is real torture. When the owner does not intend to plant the shoots, they can simply be destroyed or donated.

If the gooseberry is reluctant to grow, the growth of young shoots for reproduction can be provoked by simple agricultural techniques:

1. in the spring, the earth around the bush is well loosened, fluffed up and enriched with mulch;
2. gooseberries are trimmed;
3. They dig a ditch around the bush and provide abundant watering;
4. when the young shoots grow into the bush, they hill up, covering them with a third layer of soil (you can add brought compost on top);
5. the shoots are pinched for better branching, removing three to five leaves from above;
6. the root system of young shoots will be formed in the fall;
7. At the discretion of the owner, the shoots can be planted in winter, or you can wait until next spring.

Arc-shaped layering

In some varieties of gooseberries, thin arched shoots, touching the ground, quickly take root. In this case, rooting can take place without our help, but if we help the plant a little, this process will go faster.

Where the branch touches the ground, dig a hole, place the branch in it, pin it and cover it with humus soil, forming a small mound.

In the fall, we separate the rooted cuttings from the mother bush and dig it up. We carefully inspect the resulting seedlings and, depending on their condition, send them either for growing or immediately plant them in a permanent place.

This method is very simple and effective. Its only drawback is that only one seedling is produced per branch. But if you are not growing gooseberry seedlings for sale or are not planting large plantations of this plant, then this is quite enough to update your plantings.

Gooseberry grafting

Propagation of gooseberries by grafting is rarely practiced. Grafted bushes often produce wild shoots. If the vaccination is successful, a younger generation with improved properties can be raised. Gooseberries are usually grafted onto red or golden currant seedlings.

1. Currant seedlings grown from cuttings are planted in pots at the end of summer. They are sent to the basement for the winter.
2. In March, they are brought into the greenhouse and grafted using the copulation method, which consists of combining a wedge-shaped cut on the scion with a wedge-shaped split on the rootstock and fixed with soft cloth.
3. Shoots appear on the gooseberry scion, which are pinched to obtain a thick crown. The currant rootstock also grows shoots that need to be removed.
4. Grafted plants are planted in soil enriched with fertilizers.

Lignified cuttings

Due to the fact that gooseberry cuttings take root rather poorly, many advise against cuttings, but I believe that this advice should be heeded by those involved in the industrial cultivation of seedlings.

And we, summer residents, can experiment and even if out of 10 cuttings we produce 2 or 3 roots, then this will be enough for us.

We prepare cuttings in early spring even before the buds wake up and begin to grow. And in the fall we cut the cuttings just before planting.

If we cut cuttings from the top of the shoots, they will take root and develop much better compared to those cuttings that are cut from the bottom of the shoots.

We plant cuttings cut in spring into open ground only after the soil has thawed to a sufficient depth. Before planting, cuttings can be stored at home in the refrigerator, after wrapping them in a damp cloth and placing them in a plastic bag.

Cuttings (20 cm long) cut in autumn are planted in a previously prepared bed with fertile soil. The distance between planted cuttings should be at least 15-20 cm.

It is best to plant cuttings at an angle of 45°, since with such planting we create more favorable conditions for the development of the cutting. After all, it is known that the higher the place where roots form in the cutting is located, the warmer the soil and the faster the rooting process will proceed.

After planting, thoroughly compact the soil around the cuttings, then water the plantings, only very carefully so as not to wash away the soil, and mulch with humus or peat in a layer of about 5-6 cm.

In the spring, when the snow melts, we will definitely check our seedlings. We carefully loosen the ground around them, level them, and if the cuttings are squeezed out of the ground, then we bury them back into the ground and press them lightly.

Later during the summer we carry out watering, loosening, weeding, and fertilizing.

Seeds

You can grow gooseberries using seeds. This method is popular as propagation by offshoots or cuttings, but is more suitable for breeding new species.

Features of propagation by seeds

In order to get the seeds, you need to collect the berries, wash and dry them for several days. After this, you need to immediately plant them in pots with prepared soil. You need to mix fertile soil, sand and humus, and add drainage to the bottom.

Plant the seeds to a depth of 0.5 cm, at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Then, the seeds are watered and covered with film. Pots of gooseberry seeds should be stored in a cool place. In spring, the pots are placed in the ground, and after the leaves appear, the gooseberries are planted from the containers.

Errors

The main mistakes when growing gooseberries from seeds are:

• early or late planting of plants in open ground;
• the seed takes a long time to dry;
• not enough feeding for the young plant;
• abundant watering.

Important! Gooseberries need to be planted in a checkerboard pattern so that the bushes do not shade each other.

Green cuttings

The green cuttings method is a more effective way of propagating gooseberries than the previous one - using lignified cuttings. The best time for green cuttings of gooseberries is the second half of June. The rate of growth and development of shoots in plants largely depends on the weather, so the optimal timing of cuttings varies from year to year.

For cutting cuttings, it is best to use young growths of the current year, which are recommended to be harvested early in the morning or in the afternoon, or in cloudy weather.

The length of the cuttings should be approximately 7-12 cm, and they should be cut with a sharp knife or sharp razor. It is advisable to treat the cut cuttings with some kind of growth regulator for better rooting. To do this, dip the cuttings into the working solution and keep them for 12-24 hours at a temperature of 20-24°C.

Then we wash the sections treated in this way with running water and plant the cuttings in a specially prepared nursery according to the following scheme - 3x7 cm to a depth of 1.5-2 cm and carefully water them.

We prepare the soil in the nursery in advance: the top layer is from a mixture of peat or humus with sand or perlite (1:1); Below is a fertile layer, the thickness of which should be approximately 10 cm, made of rotted manure; the lowest layer is drainage, since gooseberries do not like waterlogging.

It is very important to create the most favorable conditions for seedlings to take root, namely: warmth and high levels of air humidity. Thus, the most optimal air temperature is considered to be 18-23°C, and the night temperature should not fall below 16-21°C. It is recommended to water the seedlings only with warm water.

At the same time, overheating should not be allowed, so on very warm sunny days the nursery should be opened slightly, and the top should also be shaded with some kind of fabric or covering material.

After the roots have formed, it is necessary to regularly weed the plantings and loosen the soil. You can feed our seedlings several times over the summer with a solution of slurry diluted 6 times (½ bucket per 1 m2) or urea (20-30 g per 1 m2).

If at the very beginning of root formation it is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity (there should be moisture on the leaves), then after mass rooting we reduce the humidity level to 70-85%, and then bring it to humidity in open ground.

Transplanting a bush to a permanent place

The best time to plant gooseberry seedlings in a permanent place is autumn. The plant is best grafted and takes root at positively low temperatures.

You can plant gooseberries in the spring. In this case, seedlings are planted as soon as the snow melts.

It is recommended to plant the shrub in a sunny and ventilated area of ​​the garden. Groundwater should not be located too close to the surface.

Planting instructions:

1. For planting, prepare holes with a diameter of 40-50 cm and a depth of 60 cm. The distance between the holes for gooseberries should be at least 1.5 m.
2. The soil removed from the holes is mixed with 1 bucket of horse manure, 200 g of superphosphate, 60 g of potassium sulfate and 50 g of lime. A mound is formed from part of the mixture at the bottom of the hole.
3. The seedling is placed in the hole, placing the roots evenly over the fertile mound. The remaining soil is filled into the hole, compacting the soil around the plant.
4. The soil around the gooseberries is mulched and watered with plenty of warm water. The branches are cut so that there are from 3 to 6 buds left on each of them.

Gooseberries are replanted according to the same principle. It is important to spread its roots evenly around the fertile mound.

Combined cuttings

A combined cutting is a green shoot with part of last year's lignified growth, the length of which should not exceed 3-4 cm. We prepare cuttings with a heel, a crutch, and a stand.

We get a cutting with a heel when we simply break out a branch; cutting with a stalk - this is when we cut off a green branch with part of the woody shoot and the cut goes along last year’s brown growth; We prepare a cutting with a stand from a side branch and it turns out that part of the woody shoot (crutch) extends perpendicularly from the green branch.

You can start propagating gooseberries in this way from the end of May, as soon as the green growths reach a height of 5-7 cm, and then for almost the entire active growing season.

We plant the prepared cuttings in loose, well-moistened soil, deepening the “heel” and base by 3-4 cm. Then we water and mulch the soil abundantly. Roots most often form within one and a half to two weeks.

Caring for young plants

In order for young gooseberries to grow well and produce a lot of harvest, they must be fed with potassium fertilizers or humus. It is also recommended to regularly treat it against pests and diseases. To prevent the branches of a young plant from breaking, it is recommended to make supports for it.

Every spring, gooseberries are sprayed with hot water from a spray bottle and the soil is mulched so that the roots receive enough oxygen. There are no great difficulties in propagating gooseberries. The main thing is to follow all the instructions and create comfortable conditions for young bushes to develop.

Perennial branches

Old gooseberry branches cut out in spring or autumn can not be thrown away, but used for propagation.

To do this, we dig a hole in the ground, place a branch there and cover it with fertile soil. On the surface we leave only the very top of the branch and this year’s green growth. To stimulate the awakening of lateral buds, green growths can be pinched.

In the future, the soil must be constantly kept moist. We begin to feed the shoots when they begin to grow. Then in the fall we dig up the branch, divide it into separate seedlings, depending on how many shoots have taken root, and plant them in a separate bed for growing.

Rules and timing of gooseberry propagation in spring, summer and autumn

When to take material for vegetative propagation of gooseberries depends on which method was chosen:

• woody cuttings are cut in spring, green cuttings in summer;
• Layers are added in the spring, dug up in the fall;
• You can divide the bush and replant the divisions throughout the growing season, but preferably also in the spring (in the northern regions) or autumn (in the southern regions and in the Middle Zone).

As for when it is more advisable to propagate gooseberries - in spring or autumn, it is better to do it in the fall: at this time the seedlings take root better than in the spring. But, if for some reason it didn’t work out in the fall, then you can do it early in the spring, as soon as it gets warmer, and you can start working in the garden.

To propagate gooseberries by cuttings in the spring, you need to choose a time before the sap begins to flow, when the buds have not yet had time to open. Accordingly, to propagate gooseberries by cuttings in the fall, you need to cut them after all the leaves have fallen from it, but even before the cold weather sets in.

Dividing the bush

This propagation method is usually used in cases where it is necessary to transplant a valuable variety from an old site to a new one.

A year before the planned transplant, it is necessary to cut out all the old branches at the root so that new shoots begin to grow.

Next year we dig up the bush, divide it into several parts and immediately plant them in pre-prepared planting holes. It is best to do such a transplant either in the fall or in the spring, but not in the summer.

Well, dear readers, we briefly examined all the methods of propagating gooseberries. I hope that in this article you will find useful information that will help you successfully propagate your favorite variety, and we’ll talk about gooseberry diseases and pests in the following articles.

In conclusion, I would like to invite you to take a little break from the propagation process and watch an interesting video on how to make gooseberry ice cream.

See you soon, dear readers!

Best time

The main condition for successful gooseberry cultivation is warmth and humidity. Therefore, it is so important to choose the right planting date. Depending on the method of reproduction, this may be spring, early autumn or summer. In early spring, layerings take root best; in April, you can replant the plant by dividing the bush.

If you were unable to do so before buds formed, you can plant gooseberries in the summer. In June-July, green cuttings take root well. At the end of August, layering is also successfully added.

Autumn is suitable for any method: layering, lignified cuttings, dividing the bush. It is best to do this in September so that the young plant takes root before frost. In the southern regions, planting dates are pushed back to the end of October.

Note! The choice of method and time of propagation also depends on the gooseberry variety. Some are more frost-resistant and unpretentious, others are poorly cultivated by cuttings.

With the right choice of method and time of propagation, gooseberries take root well

other methods

There are several other ways to grow gooseberries. They are used less frequently because they are not as effective.

• You can take perennial branches for propagation. They are cut off in May, part of the young growth and side shoots are removed. The branches need to be buried with fertile soil so that the green part is above the surface of the earth. Caring for such plantings is usual: watering, loosening, weeding.
• In the fall, after harvesting, you can plant young shoots that grow around the bushes. It is carefully dug up and transferred to a new place.
• An alternative method of propagation is to graft gooseberries onto other plants. Most often, red or white currants are used as a rootstock. But this method is complex and ineffective; there is no guarantee that the berries will turn out tasty.

Gooseberries are an unpretentious plant that takes root easily. There are many ways to propagate it, which are accessible even to inexperienced gardeners. If you follow all the rules, you can constantly get good harvests of tasty, healthy berries.

Preparatory stage

This labor-intensive but interesting method is associated with mechanical damage to the above-ground part of the bush. Therefore, it is important to prepare high-quality tools and disinfectants.

Conditions for rooting

To ensure that gooseberry propagation efforts do not end in the death of the planting material, it is important to strictly observe all the conditions and sequence of the procedure.

For successful rooting of cuttings you need:

• air temperature not lower than +20…+25°C;
• high humidity and good air permeability of the soil;
• soil temperature is 5°C higher than ambient temperature;
• high-quality lighting;
• optimal concentration of cambium and nutrients in planting material;
• saturation of the soil with growth stimulants.

To increase the content of nutrients and cambium, the mother bush is fed with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers for 1.5 months. Do this once every 3 weeks. For 1 bush, use 10 liters of water, in which 15 g of potassium and 20 g of phosphate fertilizers are diluted. 14 days before separation, the shoot is pinched at the bottom with wire.

Soil preparation

The berry bush prefers loose and nutritious soil. Before planting, all perennial weeds are carefully removed from the site.

Advice! Experienced gardeners plant dahlias in this soil a year before gooseberries. They clean the soil and loosen it.

Clay, sandy, and peat soils are suitable for gooseberries.

After harvesting dahlias in the fall, reduce the acidity of the soil by adding dolomite flour. Gooseberries thrive at a low or neutral pH level.

How to root

There are 2 ways to root gooseberries: in water and soil.

In water

This method is suitable for rooting woody gooseberry cuttings. For the procedure, use soft melt or rain water, purified from impurities and salts. Sequencing:

1. Sprouts up to 25 cm long taken from the mother plant are cut in the upper and lower parts at a distance of 2 cm from the lower bud.
2. The material is disinfected with a bactericidal solution and placed in water so that the ends of the cuttings are immersed above the lower bud.
3. The shoots are covered with a bag.
4. When the first roots and green mass appear, the material is transferred to previously prepared soil, while ensuring air access.

For faster growth, the sections are treated with a growth stimulator for a day, then washed and again immersed in clean water.

In the ground

Green cuttings are planted in the ground throughout July. There is no need to prepare material in advance. It is rational to cut off the shoots right on the day of planting. Roots are formed on cuttings in a trench without the use of boxes.

The cuts on the cuttings must be fresh. Before transferring to the ground, the material is kept in warm water for up to 5 hours. The lower part is deepened at an angle into moist soil, compacted around the trunk and watered.