Gooseberries and red currents

[darcyvuqua]

Could anyone tell me if its possible to grow gooseberries and red currents from cuttings?? Is so when and how is it done?

[FB.]

Yes - both will root very easily from cuttings without need for rooting hormone powder.

The best way is to take pencil-length cuttings from young shoots in the autumn, when the leaves on the shoot are yellowing. Just use secateurs to cut off as many pieces as you want and poke the cuttings into the ground or in pots of soil/compost.
The cuttings will do nothing for a month or two, then should start to root slowly during their winter "dormancy" followed by more vigorous rooting and new shoot growth in spring.

Cuttings can also be taken during winter after the leaves have fallen, but they tend to be weaker, slower-growing and slower to establish than autumn cuttings.

It is also possible to mound soil up the base of multi-stemmed currant/gooseberry bushes so the multiple branches each root into the mounded soil; you can gently scrape away the soil later in the year and cut off the rooted stems for transplanting.

[rustylady]

I think FB has said it all really.

[Jardiniere]

FB has explained it all well... i have taken loads of blackcurrant and gooseberry cuttings over the last three years and now have quite a good fruit patch - with good size bushes and little twiggy ones (this years) this year I am going to try redcurrant cuttings now my one and only bush has reached maturity. Good luck with yours.

[rustylady]

Works for blackcurrants and whitecurrants too.

[darcyvuqua]

I'm so disappointed I pruned the red current bush last autumn when I took the plot on wish I stuck them in now hind sight is an amazing thing

[FB.]

I'm so disappointed I pruned the red current bush last autumn when I took the plot on wish I stuck them in now hind sight is an amazing thing

Whatever I'm pruning - currants, fruit trees etc - I poke some of the prunings in the ground nearby so I can later go back for cuttings or graftwood.

[FB.]

One thing I should have mentioned is that the cuttings must remain outdoors.
If they are brought indoors or into a greenhouse the milder conditions will cause them to try to leaf-out before they have grown roots; consequently risking death from dehydration as the new leaves call for water but no roots are present to supply the water needs.

[veggiechicken]

Me too also ^^^^ They seem to take at any time of year too,
Oops, didn't see you there again FB

[FB.]

They seem to take at any time of year too

I wouldn't be surprised if soft leafy cuttings would root in a vase of water with a little plant food added - but I haven't tried it.

[planetologist]

Rooting in just water works a treat for blackcurrants, but I haven't had any success with redcurrants or gooseberries.