Pruning yoshta will help you harvest a high yield every year
The popularity of yoshta is growing every year and this is not surprising. The absence of thorns and large berries distinguish it favorably from thorny gooseberries and small currants. And timely pruning of yoshta will help to maintain high yields. This shrub is several times larger than currants in size, and it also has a faster growth rate.
The height of the culture can exceed 1.5 m, and the diameter of its crown is even 2 m.Without pruning, the bush grows very large and begins to take up a lot of space. The thickening of the crown affects not only its lighting, but also significantly reduces the yield. Pruning will help to thin the bush, which will protect it from disease, and prevent the reduction in the number of berries.
Pruning yoshta - terms and features of the procedure
It is recommended to prune the shrub twice a season. The first procedure should be done in early spring, before the buds bloom. Re-pruning should be done in the fall, after the yoshta has shed its foliage.
Spring pruning
In the spring, when the frosts pass and warm weather sets in, it is necessary to evaluate how the bush overwintered. Cut branches that are frozen to living tissue. In addition, you need:
- Completely remove low-lying shoots, otherwise they will fall to the ground over time.
- In adult specimens, it is essential to shorten shoots that are older than 7 years, leaving no more than 6 buds.
- Thin the bushes - old-timers, ridding them of too old branches.
- Cut out broken and diseased branches.
How to prune yoshta in autumn
During the summer, the hybrid grows strongly, and its young shoots can stretch high. If you leave them in this form, the next season, under the weight of large berries, tall branches can break. Therefore, before wintering, the crown should be lightened by shortening such shoots by 1/3.
You also need to re-examine the bush and remove diseased and injured branches. And the last procedure will be the removal of young growth. Although yoshta forms little of it, nevertheless, due to the root growth, the bush grows and displaces neighboring plantings. If not a goal multiply variety, shoots in the fall need to be cut.