Description and characteristics of Ilyinka currant variety, planting and care

It is impossible to imagine a garden without currants. These plants are long-lived among berry crops. In the second year they bear fruit, and in the third year they produce a full harvest. If the plant care is correct and constant, then harvesting can be done annually for up to 15 years. Experienced gardeners have long decided on the best large-fruited currant varieties. One of them is the Ilyinka currant variety.

Description and characteristics of Ilyinka currant

To plant Ilyinka currants in your garden, you need to study the description of the variety. Breeders developed the Ilyinka variety in two colors: red and black. Almost all of their characteristics are the same, but there are some differences.

Ilyinka red

This variety is suitable for regions with a cool climate. Tolerates frosty winters and dry summers well. The bush is dense, medium in size and branched, bears fruit annually. In mid-summer, large berries (weighing about 1.6 grams each), which have a dark red, almost burgundy color, ripen on the bushes. They taste sweet, sour and aromatic. The brush hangs down by 4-6 centimeters.

During the season, you can collect up to 5.5 kilograms of currants from a bush. The shoots are erect and thick. The leaves are five-lobed, large to medium in size, dark green in color. Practically not susceptible to diseases.

Ilyinka black

The bush reaches a height of up to 1.4 meters, dense, moderately spreading. It has a pyramidal shape. Does not need support. Large berries (weighing about 5.0 grams each) grow on the fruit cluster, the length of which reaches from 4 to 6 centimeters. Sweet, have a dessert, pronounced currant taste.

The variety is high-yielding and cold-resistant. One plant can produce up to 5 kilograms of aromatic berries. When picking, the berries do not wrinkle or fall off. All fruits ripen at the same time. Well transported. The variety is moderately resistant to septoria and is not affected by powdery mildew.

Main advantages and disadvantages

Like all currant varieties, Ilyinka has its own positive and negative characteristics. There are much more of the former than the latter.

Black and red currant berries are transported very well and do not wrinkle. But if we talk about the demand for these two berries, then gardeners are more interested in the black variety Ilyinka.

Subtleties of growing varieties

For a decent harvest, you need to know some tricks of growing currants. The composition of the soil is very important for this plant. Sweet currant varieties need to be fertilized and a location chosen on the site.

Time and place

The right time for planting is the end of summer or the first month of autumn. During this period, the roots are well strengthened. If a seedling is planted later than September, then its roots will not have time to develop and take hold, and this will lead to the death of the plant.

For planting, choose a sunny place protected from northern winds (areas along fences, paths). A bush planted in the shade begins to hurt, its berries become smaller, and there are much fewer of them.

The soil must be loose, without stagnant water. Planted on light loamy, sandy loam and medium podzolic soil.

Selection and preparation of planting material

The best planting material is biennial plants with well-developed roots. The number of shoots is not so important, since they still need to be cut off when planting. You can ask the seller to make a cut on the shoot. If blackness is visible on the cut, then the glass is destroying the plant. You shouldn't buy it. A healthy seedling - without signs of wilting, with clean leaves and without dark spots on the shoots.

If it is not possible to plant bare-rooted seedlings immediately, then after purchasing they must be placed in water or temporarily buried in partial shade.

Planting process

The place for planting currants must be prepared in advance (about 2-3 weeks) so that the ground settles. To do this you need:

1. Dig a hole half a meter deep and wide.
2. Mix the soil from the pit with 8-9 kilograms of compost, 200 grams of superphosphate, 30-35 grams of potassium sulfate and wood ash. Then fill the hole with the resulting substrate and fill it with 2 buckets of water. When the liquid is absorbed, you need to mulch with sawdust.
3. The holes must be made 1.5 meters apart.

Important! This process will provide nutrition to the young seedling. If you don’t have time to do this, you can purchase a ready-made compound and fertilize the soil with it.

After two weeks, the seedlings are planted in prepared, nutrient holes, maintaining an angle of 45 ° C. It is important that the root collar is buried 50 millimeters into the ground. The roots need to be carefully laid out in the hole. Thanks to this process, new roots and shoots begin to grow from the buds located in the ground.

The bush is formed strong, with powerful, erect branches. Then the hole is covered with earth (a small amount), compacted tightly and filled with water. After the liquid is absorbed, soil is added to the hole and mulched with sawdust to prevent the appearance of an earthen crust.

In order for the bush to develop strong and strong, it is necessary to trim the shoots to 10-15 centimeters, leaving 5 buds on the stem. In dry weather, plants need watering a few days after planting.

Further care of the plant

Care includes: watering, bush formation, fertilization, disease and pest control and preparation for the winter season.

Watering rules

Currants need regular watering, as they are very moisture-loving. It should be done about 2-3 times a week. Lack of moisture leads to a decrease in yield. For one watering, one bush requires 3-4 buckets of water. Black currants are more demanding when it comes to watering.

Feeding and fertilizers

If all the necessary nutrients were added to the hole during planting, then the currants are not fed for 2 years. In the spring, starting from the 3rd year, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied (50 grams of urea per bush). From the age of 4, 20 grams of urea are used per bush, but twice a year.

In autumn, the following is added under the bush:

• about 5 kilograms of organic matter (compost or chicken manure);
• 50 grams of superphosphate;
• 15 grams of potassium sulfate.

This method should be used to feed currants every year.

Bush formation

The first pruning is done immediately after planting. Every year, excess shoots that bear fruit (5-6 years old) are cut off. The bush should have a wide base. The middle of the bush should not be thickened and light. Only then will there be uniform and abundant fruiting. A proper bush consists of 16-20 strong shoots of different ages.

Preparing for winter

Black and red currants of the Ilyinka variety are winter-hardy and do not need shelter. But there are other necessary works to prepare for winter:

1. Autumn pruning of a bush. Remove dry branches, thin shoots and shoots lying on the ground.
2. Clearing bushes of fallen leaves.
3. As soon as the temperature reaches sub-zero temperatures, the currants must be tied with a rope in a spiral and pulled together.

Protection from diseases and pests

Treatment of plants against diseases and pests is carried out in spring and autumn.On strong shrubs, diseases rarely progress. But prevention is necessary.

In early autumn, the bush is treated with copper oxychloride (diluted 40 grams per 10 liters of water) or 1% Bordeaux mixture. The ground around the bush is also sprayed. In early spring, spraying is carried out until the buds swell with the following preparations: karbofos, copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.

To prevent and destroy pests and their larvae, currants are doused with boiling water at the end of winter. To increase the effect, manganese is added to the water. As soon as the snow melts, the ground around the plant is treated with copper sulfate.

Reproduction

It is not necessary to buy seedlings. You can propagate currants yourself:

• lignified cuttings;
• apical cuttings;
• green cuttings;
• shoot layering;
• dividing the bush.

Cleaning and storage

Ripe berries are harvested only in dry weather. You can collect the bunches entirely, for further transportation, or partially - if the berries do not ripen at the same time (ripen during storage).

If the currants are intended for processing (jam, compotes, juices), only the berries are picked.

Store berries:

• in refrigerators at a temperature of 0 to 0.5 ° C, with a humidity of 85-90%. This way it can be stored for up to five weeks;
• in cellars, basements, glaciers at 0 ° C, in sealed bags. Shelf life – 2 months;
• in the freezer at -2 °C. In bags or containers for freezing. Stored until the next harvest.

The Ilyinka variety is in great demand among gardeners, as it has a lot of positive qualities. If you follow the rules of planting and caring for it, you can harvest it every year.