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Pruning Currants in Tasmania

Pruning Currants in Tasmania

Published by Andrew Clark on 1st Apr 2025

Pruning Redcurrants & Blackcurrants

A little winter tidy-up for a whole lot more summer fruit

There’s something incredibly satisfying about giving your berry bushes a good winter prune. Not only does it set them up for a strong growing season, but it also invites a bumper crop of glossy fruit come summer. Left to their own devices, currants get a bit lazy — lots of old, unproductive wood and not much fruit to show for it.

A thoughtful prune each year brings in the light, boosts air flow, and encourages fresh, fruiting growth. It’s not about being perfect — just about being a little bit brave with your secateurs and trusting that your plants will thank you.


Redcurrants vs Blackcurrants — a small difference with big results

Understanding where each plant puts out its fruit helps us prune with purpose.

  • Blackcurrants are a little more vigorous, with most of the fruit coming on wood that’s one to two years old.

  • Redcurrants (and gooseberries too) fruit on two- to three-year-old wood — they’re a bit slower and steadier.

If you’re not sure how old a branch is, don’t stress — it’s easier to tell than it sounds.

  • One-year-old wood is light, smooth and fresh-looking.

  • Older wood darkens, thickens, and often carries little fruiting spurs or stubs where berries grew the year before.


What we’re aiming for

  • Remove old, tired wood to make space for new, fruiting stems

  • Open up the centre for light and air

  • Clear out damaged, crossing or low-hanging branches

  • Keep around 8–12 strong, well-spaced branches on a mature bush

Think of it like shaping a little fruiting vase — open in the middle, sturdy around the outside, and full of potential.


For Blackcurrants

These guys love a good cutback — they respond really well to a hard prune.

  • Remove older wood right down at the base (especially the ones that fruited heavily last year)

  • Leave the lighter cropping one-year-old shoots to develop

  • Don’t be tempted to tip prune unless you’re balancing out a branch that’s bolting ahead of the rest

You’ll often take out about a third of the bush — and that’s okay!


For Redcurrants

Redcurrants need a gentler touch — they fruit for longer on older wood.

  • Trim out a few of the oldest branches at the base

  • You can leave older wood that’s sending up fresh new shoots — those can be next year’s fruiters

  • Shorten back the rest of the branches by about a third, cutting just above an outward-facing bud — this encourages spurs and keeps the shape balanced

There’s no single “right” way — trust your instincts, and aim to keep the shrub open, balanced and full of life.

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Happy gardening! ?