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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Currant cutting request

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  • From: Ribes60@aol.com
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Currant cutting request
  • Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 00:08:20 EDT

I think that fall is the best time to plant currants and gooseberries and also to root cuttings. I no longer propagate and sell plants but have rooted many hundreds by fall cuttings. I am in central PA zone 5/6. I like to till a row , add rotted leaf mulch and till it again. I put down black plastic, and stab the cuttings through the plastic. I prefer to get the cuttings in by mid October - our first good frost is about that time, I strip any remaining leaves off the cuttings before sticking them. I like cuttings about 8 to 10 inches long and stick them in about 4 to 5 inches.I have found very little difference in using cutting with or without the terminal end. The ground rarely freezes before mid to late December so the cuttings will probably have roots formes before that. Gooseberries are an exception - they do not root as easily as currants and some are very difficult to root. I have had better luck rooting semi-green cuttings of gooseberry in May. They must be kept moist and in the shade at that time. I also remove all but the top three of four leaves, then spray or dip the tops in "Wilt Pruf". I also use a rooting harmone with them.
 
I think that fall planting is much better than spring planting because in the spring we often get early dry spells that would require a lot of watering - even with a drip system. In the fall the weather is cooling and we get more rain, the plant tops are leafless so do not transpire as much as plants in the spring.
 
Ed Mashburn
Zone 5/6 PA
 
 



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