Propagating Currants And Berry Fruits

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31753, 9 August 1968, Page 6

Propagating Currants And Berry Fruits

Bush fruit can he easily propagated from hardwood cuttings which can be taken at the present time. Selection should be made from known varieties using only the healthiest, strongest and straighteet shoots from the past season’s growth. Currants Blackcurrant cuttings should be made from 9in to lOin long, of not less than pencil thickness, and several plants can be obtained from one long cane. Each cutting should terminate just below a bud at the base and just above a bud at the tip. To promote more even growth, the terminal bud on the end of the shoot used for making the cuttings should always be cut off, and because blackcurrant bushes are always grown as stools all other buds are retained and none are rubbed off.

The prepared cuttings can' then either be lined out straight away or plunged into damp sawdust or sand to callous at the base. Callousing is the term used to describe the formation of hard tissue and small roots which form at and around the cut basal area and once this has taken place the cutting can be planted. Any soil that is well drained is suitable and no special preparations are necessary. If the soil is at all heavy sand should be incorporated. Cuttings should be inserted to a depth of 4in to Bin and 6in apart The quickest way to do this, if intending to raise quite a number of plants, is to run a garden line out for the required length, make a slit trench along it with a spade, put the cuttings in at the correct depth and spacing and firmly heel them in so that they are secure against movement, a feature vital to success.

During the season the ground about the cuttings should be kept weed free and clean of pests and diseases and not allowed to lack moisture. In March they can be

wrenched in readiness for planting out in late autumn. The raising of red and white currants differs in only one respect from that of blackcurrants as they have a different fruiting habit. Blackcurrants fruit only on one-year-old wood (and spurs formed on older growth) while red and white currants fruit in two-year and older canes. For this reason suckering is encouraged on blackcurrants by retaining all the buds on the cuttings but is undesirable on the others. For this reason all but the top three or four buds are removed. Gooseberry bushes must be grown on a trunk to keep the branches clear of the ground. All too often one can see them resembling a bramble bush gone wild, which makes picking of the fruit an unpleasant, if not impossible, job. For this reason cuttings should be made at least 12in long and up to 18in if possible, and all but the top three to four buds, excluding the tip, should be removed. This, together with all the spines, should also be taken off. It is sometimes difficult to find naturally straight growth of a suitable nature and curved shoots can be utilised if they are then tied to stakes. Gooseberries can also be raised from suckers, seed, or by layering. Grapes can also be grown from cuttings, and now is a good time to make them. The cuttings are usually made about Sin long and then soaked in water for 24 hours. These are then buried to the extent that only one bud is left exposed. This is then lightly covered with soil. Berries Raspberries are easily grown from suckers which arise from the roots of the parent stools, and while almost every sucker will ultimately produce a stool, preference should be given fibrous root systems rather to those having well-developed than to those with a limited root but well-developed cane. Those with good basal buds will further improve rapidity of growth, subsequent steeling, and earlier yields. Strawberry beds can be replenished or increased by allowing existing plants to produce runners. As this plant is very susceptible to disease, great care should be exercised when selecting plants for runner production. Any plants noticed during the season to display such symptoms of yellow edge, doubtful vigour, crinkled or Irregular development should not be used to propagate from—in fact they are better destroyed as they are almost cetrainly Infected with virus which can be perpetuated In the runners. Although there is little to chose between the first and last formed runners after about six months growth, the primaries are recommended in preference to the others where the plants are to be kept for only a year or two and quick cropping is desirable.

Tree tomatoes present yet another opportunity of raising one’s own plants. These can be grown from seed or cuttings and result in two distinct forms of tree, depending on which method is used. From seed a more upright plant is obtained which does not generally branch out till 4ft to sft high. Some variability is likely also unless crosspollination can be avoided; otherwise seed and fruit colours will give an indication of variability—red-skin-ned orange-fleshed fruits with black seeds and yellow fruits with yellow flesh and light coloured seed are fairly reliable. Cuttings tend to develop into really bushy plants and should be selected from one to two-year-old shoots of finger thickness and between 15in and 30iti long. These

can be taken in spring or autumn, and treated as with blackcurrants, not forgetting to remove all the leaves. Chinese gooseberries must be raised by grafting or budding on to a rootstock which can be raised from seed. Seedlings cannot be used, as until they flower there is no way of telling. which gender they are. Grafting, employing the whip and tongue form, must be done before the sap rises to avoid bleeding, July to the first week in August at the latest is the best time. Scions should consist of wood of similar thickness to the stock and comprise two to three buds in length. The stock should be cut back to about 4in to 6in for grafting and also for budding. Budding is usually done in March and the T method employed.