New black currant plants wilting

[Ron Wood]

I got good looking black and red currant cuttings last summer and kept them in the pots till about a month ago. I planted them in fresh topsoil mix in my front yard and mulched the area well. The leaves on the red currant plants are comming out OK but the black currant leaves come out about 1/2 inch and start wilting away. Is there any way I can save these plants from immediate death? I'm from Latvia (now living in Northern NJ) and miss the black currants a lot.

Thanks Ron

[Ally]

I've only just starting planting currants - but the advice I got on black currants was to prune them back to 2 buds showing just above the soil immediately after planting. Also, they prefer an acidic soil pH -

6.0 to 6.5.

The other advice is to not leave any branches to bear fruit the first year, you are trying to get 2-3 good branches to grow well, and prune back the weak shutes and branches.

In later years, you are trying to get 6-8 good branches per plant, and they will produce the most fruit from 1 year old branches, so taking out the old and developing new branches is key in later years.

Good luck