Poor care can lead to disease and death of gooseberries, the appearance of pests. To prevent this from happening, pruning is done. This is a prerequisite for good plant growth and life. You also need to trim the bush for:
- rejuvenation;
- crop increase;
- clearance crown.
Need to trim
Gooseberries at the age of 8 are considered quite old. For further growth, it is rejuvenated by cutting off old processes. Energy from the root system enters those branches that form new stems.
Plants have a lush crown, which interferes with pollination, fruit ovary. The cut also allows easier pollination of inflorescences, due to which the bush gives a good yield.
In addition, the cause of many gooseberry diseases is its overgrowing. Pruning allows the bush to ventilate and receive enough sunlight.
Instruments
You will need:
- Secateurs (suitable for thin branches located on the surface).
- Lopper (for cutting powerful branches with a diameter of up to 5 cm located inside the bush).
- Cotton gloves (provide protection against spikes, cut with a tool).
Tools should be:
- high-quality and durable (to avoid damage during operation);
- well sharpened (sharp without any defects);
- light (for ease of use);
- with a convenient handle (with special inserts to prevent slipping in the hands).
When is it better to crop?
Gooseberry pruning is carried out in spring and summer (after harvesting in August), as well as in autumn. The timing depends on the goal.
In the spring, old branches are removed (it is easy to recognize them: they are dried, black, diseased). If gooseberries are 1 year old, then weak shoots are removed in the second, 3-4 strong sprouts are left. So do every spring. After 5 years, the bush should have about 25 strong shoots, for the growth of side branches.
In the summer after harvesting, the gooseberries must be trimmed in order to bear fruit well for the next year. Due to this, the plant will devote more energy to the growth of berries. Cut off zero shoots, on which the plant spends energy.
The most suitable time for trimming gooseberries in the fall is the end of October, the beginning of November. The closer to cooling, the better. It is necessary so that the side branches do not begin to grow, which is possible at high air temperatures. In a healthy shrub, diseased and weak branches are removed, which grow deeper into the bush. Zero shoots are cut to 1/4 length.
Trimming Highlights:
- good lighting;
- removal of excess processes for the intake of nutrients;
- a cut of the young elite who will not survive the winter.
Trimming Types
Constant pruning affects the health of the bush and its future productivity.
| Kinds | Causes |
| Preparing for landing. | Preparing the bush for rooting. |
| The design of the crown. | Compact and beautiful appearance. |
| Rejuvenation. | Stimulating the growth of new branches. |
| Sanitation bush. | Removing diseased, broken branches that prevent the young from developing normally. |
Before planting gooseberries, broken and dry branches are cut out. The rest is shortened so that 4 kidneys remain. If the processes are weakened, they are reduced to 2. Weakened and thin branches need to be cut off completely.
After rooting proceed to the design of the crown. If the first treatment was successful, then for 2 years there will be many strong shoots. Properly pruning gooseberries in the first year means giving them healthy growth and a good harvest in the future.
The crown is made out as follows:
| Year | Necessary actions |
| 2nd year | The branches are cut in half. Before the onset of winter, the grown ones prune 1/3 of the length. Mandatory root processes are necessarily removed. |
| 3rd year | The bush has a certain shape. Only unnecessary branches up to 10 cm long are cut. |
| 4th year | Those branches that were cut last year are again cut 5 cm from the top. This is necessary for convenient berry picking, as well as slightly pruning shoots from the sides. |
| 5th and subsequent years. | It is necessary to look at the lateral processes and trim them in a timely manner. |
Gooseberries bear fruit for 8 years. After that, he may stop producing crops. To prolong life, bush rejuvenation is performed. In this case, the reduction of branches should be voluminous. You need to do this every year. New processes sprouted from the ground are shortened by a quarter.
Another way of rejuvenation: all shoots are cut, their length after the cut should be no more than 15 cm. If the bush is more than 20 years old, there is no point in rejuvenating it.
Scheme:
- Main and side branches are cut to a minimum length.
- Non-productive branches are cleaned completely.
- Growths on the old branch are not removed.
- In summer, pruning is carried out to clean dying and weakened processes. You can perform pinching (removal of the tops of young shoots in a plant).
A heavily overgrown shrub can be reanimated if the bush is not old. Powdery mildew often causes leaves to fall, and larvae of butterflies-fireworms (located on foliage), without causing obvious defects, weaken the vital functions of the plant. For treatment, old, diseased and deformed branches are carefully cut. They thoroughly clean the base of the bush, leave only 5-6 branches, for the appearance of new processes. Gooseberry is restored within 3 years. At this time, pruning is carried out according to the scheme, not forgetting about the formation of the crown.
