[Yana]

Should I be pruning the black and red currant bushes now, in terms of shortening the new growth to 5 leaves? I am sure I saw this somewhere.
I have both established and newly planted this year, bushes of both black and red currants.

[Trillium]

I've never heard of them being pruned back to X amount of leaves. Normally you prune excess canes to between 6 - 8 canes. Both black and reds need this control.

Blacks fruit on the previous year's wood, reds fruit on 2-3 year old wood.

You need to juggle how many new and old canes to keep. I find it easy to simply tie coloured yarn on older canes, one colour for oldest, another for younger, another colour for newest canes and record this for next year. Memory can be a fleeting thing. This makes it easier to know what has to go or stay.

[Yana]

That makes sense Trillium. Do I prune now? There are loads of small currants I can see developing.

[madcat]

I wouldnt.  I prune in the winter when the bushes are dormant, then they flower, fruit and grow in the summer.

Prune now and you will lose the fruit.

[hightide]

Should I be pruning the black and red currant bushes now, in terms of shortening the new growth to 5 leaves?

Definitely not blackcurrant, standard procedure is to remove one third of old wood during the dormant period Nov-March.

As for the Redcurrant, summer pruning on cordons is recommended in late June - July don't do it any earlier as it may trigger fresh growth. The reason is to open up the fruit to air and sun, I do this every year on mine, the only thing you don't prune at this time is the leader, that is left until the winter prune.

Now I don't grow my redcurrants as a bush, but as far as I know, the same procedure is recommended to open the plant up and remove aphids on new growth.

I don't like them and they are not on my plot, but it is the same procedure for gooseberry, both bush and cordon.

[J_B]

thanks for teh suggestion. i also have lots of currants growing and they look like white currants

[Yana]

Why do people write these things about pruning (it was in a gardening magazine), they should know better.
Thanks everyone. No pruning for me for ages yet.