How to insulate currants for the winter and prepare a bush

Tell me how to insulate currants for the winter? We planted several bushes, they hibernated well for two years. But last winter it was very cold here, for almost a week the frost stayed up to 30 degrees. In the spring, we noticed that the currants were partially frozen. Not trusting the forecasters, we decided to play it safe and prepare the bush. Can you just make a kind of cap out of a film on the frame and put it on top?

The currant is famous not only for the yield and taste of berries. This shrub in general is quite unpretentious and hardy, which makes it possible to grow it in any climatic zone. However, despite its frost resistance, currants have no absolute "invincibility". In an especially harsh winter, its branches die, which entails a decrease in yield. Sometimes even the death of plants occurs, especially the young, the most vulnerable. Accordingly, even currants need protection from low temperatures, of course, taking into account the growing region. What needs to be done to avoid freezing, and how to insulate the currants for the winter?

Autumn work on preparing currants for wintering

Before proceeding with the insulation of the bushes, they should be prepared, namely:

1. After the foliage falls cut currants... Completely remove old, damaged and diseased branches and thin young growth. The tops of zero shoots should be shortened to stimulate branching in spring.
2. Remove leaves from the trunk circle. Disinfect by spilling with copper sulfate.
3. Apply potassium-phosphorus fertilizers and ash.
4. Dig up carefully.
5. Mulch.

In southern regions with warm winters, currants winters well without shelter and does not need additional insulation.

How to insulate currants for the winter, and what materials are better to use?

After the bush is fed and cut off, and the near-trunk circle is cleaned and dug up, you can start to warm the currant. This can be done in several ways:

1. Bend the branches to the ground (in different directions), fixing them with bricks or tiles, and cover with spruce branches.
2. Young bushes can be bent and dug in.
3. Put the frame on the bush.

The material for the frame must "breathe", otherwise the currants will die. The best choice is agrofiber or spandbond, while it is advisable to stretch it over the frame so that it does not touch the branches. In case of using film, care should be taken to provide ventilation gaps.

It goes without saying that covered currants need special attention. It is important to remove the frame in time or disassemble the shelter as soon as it gets warm. Otherwise, the bushes can rot and, in this form, suffer from recurrent frosts, despite the fact that in the middle of winter and 50 degrees of frost, insulated currants are not terrible.

How to properly cover currants - video