Blackcurrants are easy to grow and more tolerant of heavy soils than other currant bushes. Just one plant can provide a generous crop of berries. If blackcurrant bushes are kept well fed and watered you could be harvesting fruit a year after planting.

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You Will Need

  • Blackcurrant bush
  • Garden fork
  • Garden spade
  • Multi-purpose, peat-free compost
  • Fertiliser
  • Secateurs

Total time: 45 minutes


Step 1

Planting a blackcurrant bush - digging a hole
Planting a blackcurrant bush - digging a hole

Choose an open and sunny site. Fork over a wide area of ground, then dig a hole deep enough to accommodate the roots of your fruit bush.


Step 2

Planting a blackcurrant bush - adding compost
Planting a blackcurrant bush - adding compost

Tip plenty of garden compost into the hole and fork it deep into the soil.


Step 3

Planting a blackcurrant bush - adding fertiliser
Planting a blackcurrant bush - adding fertiliser

Sprinkle a handful of fertiliser in the hole and fork it into the soil.

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Step 4

Planting a blackcurrant bush - planting the bush
Planting a blackcurrant bush - planting the bush

Spread the roots of the blackcurrant bush out evenly across the hole area, teasing them out carefully.


Step 5

Planting a blackcurrant bush - filling in the soil
Planting a blackcurrant bush - filling in the soil

Fill in around the roots with soil, firming it down with your foot as you go, to remove any air pockets.


Step 6

Planting a blackcurrant bush - watering it in
Planting a blackcurrant bush - watering it in

Water the plant in well, soaking the area to help settle the soil down around the plant's roots.


Step 7

Planting a blackcurrant bush - pruning out stems
Planting a blackcurrant bush - pruning out stems

Prune all the shoots right back to encourage new growth from below soil level.


Step 8

Planting a blackcurrant bush - young leaves
Planting a blackcurrant bush - young leaves
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By summer the bush will have formed plenty of new shoots that will carry fruit the following summer.

Mail order fruit nurseries have a great range of bare-root plants in autumn and winter.
Boots. Photo: Getty Images.
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