Perhaps a currant bush AND a new plant?

torbrex

Gers wrote: »

Didn't prune last year - it's a 'new to me' garden' and so can't really tell which is new wood or old wood,



There are no thorns or prickles, and not enough flowers for me to notice.

Thanks for all the replies. I will watch and wait to see what the other few berries develop into. The leaves don't immediately say 'blackcurrant' to me but then I'm such a novice!

I never see the flowers on my blackcurrant bush but I do get the berries, lots of berries :T

Just leave it to grow for another year and see how it develops, I have a coupls of cuttings growing and it took one 3 years to produce any fruit.

Gers

I have got loads of this plant all over the garden and it appears to be self seeding as it's shooting up everywhere. I go around pulling it out everyday as it's got very shallow roots.

Is it a weed or am I vandalising a rare / unusual plant? :rotfl:

[IMG][/img]

torbrex

It's only a weed if you don't like it

Gers

torbrex wrote: »

It's only a weed if you don't like it

:rotfl: Yes, but is it a weed with potential?

REEN

Broad-leaved willowherb, not very pretty but not too invasive either. Not like its relative fireweed.

Gers

Reen wrote: »

Broad-leaved willowherb, not very pretty but not too invasive either. Not like its relative fireweed.

Thanks so much Reen. I will look it up now. It's spreading itself around so I just pull it out whenever I can. The little pink flowers are actually quite sweet, if only it confined itself to a patch!

Thanks again.

savemoney

I dont think its a blackcurrant maybe redcurrant or white currant.

I cut my blackcurrant hard last year only on 2nd year now and I got a good crop at least 2 big bowls full of 6 plants and more to come

Gers

I've been away from home for nearly two weeks and the currant plant has not done much in the way of ripening the fruits. There was one black'ish currant, one string of still small unripe things and lots of foliage. There are two redcurrant bushes in the overgrown (and not mine) garden-in-the-field which has heaps and heaps of ripe fruit on. The bushes are very different to mine and haven't been looked after for many years.

Right, I will cut back the old wood and leave the new stems. If the problem is too much foliage and not enough air circulation then perhaps it will help to cut back. Of course, the weather here has been atrocious all summer which won't have helped.

Pruning shears to the ready!

Gers

Gers wrote: »

[IMG][/img]

I've been into the bush and cut back a whole load of old wood and left the new stuff.

Whilst in there I came across a more berries, all hidden inside.



As you can see, some are definitely black, whilst some are still green. I've squashed a couple since taking the picture and there's no real smell of blackcurrant although there is a whiff now and then!

So now I'm assuming blackcurrant and will treat it as such. As it's so big and old (bit like myself!) is it worth digging out and planting a new one?

The learning goes on.

Gers

I've decided to treat this old thing as a blackcurrant bush and so have been out and done what the books say - cut back the brown canes and leave this years' growth.

As you can see from the photos, it's an old gnarly bush. I've cut off most of the brown canes but can't take them down to the crown as they obviously haven't been pruned well in the past by the previous owner. Most are just too big and thick to even attempt at with secaturs.







Do I give up on this bush, kill it off and start again or is it worth waiting another year so see what happens?