Currant affairs: A snip-tastic guide to pruning redcurrants and whitecurrants. With before and after pictures and video.

Pruning and care is exactly the same for all currants so you can apply these techniques to red, pink and white currant bushes whether they have been grown in open ground or in containers.

You can over prune currants but they are hardy and forgiving and will grown back.

When to prune currants:

Pruning currant bushes is done in the late Autumn and early winter months when the plants are dormant, typically any time between late November and early March.

I prune my currants when the leaves have fallen and the plant is resting. Avoid pruning during frosty periods, as this can damage the exposed cuts.

Below: A quick video of me pruning a redcurrant bush i am training into a fan against a wall.

The only time you can prune currants at other times of the year is to tidy up damaged or broken stems.

Why prune currants:

Redcurrants, whitecurrants, and pinkcurrants fruit on older wood. The fruit is produced on two- and three-year-old wood, and the quantity and quality of the fruit declines after the third year. 

Proper pruning of current bushes encourages new growth, improves air circulation, and reduces disease. I have found it makes picking the fruit easier as well.

Pruning currants keeps the bushes productive for longer, i planted my first ones in 1999 and they still produce fruit  a quarter of a century later.

It's like giving your plants a fresh start each year, ensuring they don't just survive but thrive.

Tools of the Trade: Before you get started, make sure you have the right tools:

• Sharp secateurs: A good pair of secateurs is essential for making clean cuts. Think of them as your trusty pruning sidekick.
• Loppers: For thicker branches, you'll need a pair of loppers. These provide extra leverage for those tougher cuts.
• Gloves: Protect your hands from thorns and scratches with a good pair of gardening gloves.

Don't forget to clean and disinfect your cutting tool before/and after use.

How and where the cuts are made:

When pruning a currant bush the cuts are made a quarter of an inch (6 mm) above an outward facing bud with an angle of 30 degrees sloping away from the bud.

Below: Video showing how I cut back new growth by a third.

Below: This is where the cuts and made and the angle they are made at.

The angle a cut is made at makes sure that water doesn't sit on the stem and cause rotting.

Now for the nitty-gritty. Here's a step-by-step guide to pruning your established redcurrants and whitecurrants:

Here is my easy to follow guide to what to cut off and what to leave on!

One year old wood is smooth, light in colour and pale. Two year old wood darkens to a Gray colour and three year old wood is dark and rough.

1. Remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood: Start by removing any branches that are dead, damaged, or showing signs of disease. Cut them back to healthy wood.
2. Cut out crossing branches: Branches that cross or rub against each other can create wounds and allow disease to enter. Remove one of the offending branches.
3. Shorten new growth: Reduce the new growth from the previous summer by about half, cutting back to a healthy bud. This encourages the development of fruiting spurs.
4. Create an open centre: Aim for an open-centred bush with a goblet shape. This allows for good airflow and sunlight penetration.
5. Remove some old wood: Over time, older branches become less productive. Remove a few of the oldest branches each year to encourage new growth.
6. Avoid Over-Pruning: Don’t get too snip-happy; you still need some old wood for structure and to bear fruit this year.

I have a (male) dog so I also remove any branches that hang to near the ground in favour of stronger more upright stems.

Below: This is exactly how much I cut off one of my large established currant bushes this year.

If you are late to the party and miss your opportunity to prune your soft fruit and currants you can skip pruning for one year with no long term disadvantages, just prune normally the year after.

Pruning young currant bushes after planting:

For bare-root currants planted in winter, select 3-5 strong, well-spaced branches to form the main framework of the bush.

Shorten these branches by about one-third, cutting back to an outward-facing bud. This encourages outward growth and an open-centred shape. Remove any weak, damaged, or crossing branches.

For container-grown currants planted at any time you may not need to do much pruning if the plant is already well-shaped.

Simply remove any damaged or crossing branches.If the plant is quite tall and leggy, you can lightly shorten some of the leading shoots to encourage bushier growth.

Below: A before and after pruning comparison.

Tips and tricks for currant pruning:

• Make clean cuts: Avoid tearing, twisting or shredding the branches.
• Cut back to an outward-facing bud: This encourages new growth to grow outwards, maintaining the open shape of the bush.
• Don't be afraid to prune hard: Redcurrants and white currants are tough plants and can withstand quite a bit of pruning.
• If in doubt, cut it out: It's better to remove a branch than to leave it and risk problems later on.
• Plant the cuttings to increase your stock or sell for profit.

Pruning currants to shape, cordons and fans are a little different:

When currant bushes have been, or are to be, trained into a shape pruning is a little different. To start with it may take more than a year to achieve the desired shape in the bush.

The main difference between pruning ordinary currants and those with a shape is you don't always select an outward facing bud when pruning.

Below: I have fans planted against the wall by my driveway and it is a three year project to whip them into shape.

A cordon currant bush is a currant bush trained to grow as a single vertical stem, ideal for small spaces and producing concentrated fruit spurs along its length. To prune a cordon I first select the strongest main stem and remove all others. Side shoots are then cut back to just three or four buds keeping the bush upright and prevent it spreading. 

Currants trained into a fan shape are often grown against a wall or trellis to maximise light and warmth and to save space and make fruit easier to pick. With my fan shaped currants I have been gradually training and pruning them so as they spread out and cover the wall. 

When pruning a currant bush into a fan, shoots are selected to keep the bush flat and all the rest are cut away. Growth is trimmed as normal but not always to an outward facing bud.