Black currant Lucia

Summer is a time when we eat a lot of ripe fruits, berries and vegetables, and stock up on vitamins that would be enough for us until next year. The favorite of the fruit bushes on the plots of domestic gardeners is black currant, since its fruits are very useful for the human body. Nowadays, there are many varieties of shrubs. In this article, we will consider the black currant Lucia.

Variety history

The black currant Lucia was bred at the Lisavenko M.A. in Siberia. The authors of the work are professional breeders, scientists. The plant was officially registered in 2004.

One of the relatives of this culture is the Yadrenaya currant. Culture has many positive characteristics. However, Lucia even has improved advantages, which are the richer taste of the fruits, as well as their simultaneous ripening.

Black currant Lucia: variety description

Currant Lucia: photo of the variety

The black currant Lucia belongs to medium-sized shrubs, since it has a fairly compact, non-thickened crown. The stems here have a small diameter and light green color of the bark. Older stems turn brown.

The buds of this plant are large enough and have a red color. The leaf has a classic five-lobed shape. The edge of each blade is sharpened. The middle lobe is higher than the side lobes. The color of the leaves is intense dark green. The surface of the sheet plate is wrinkled, matte. The veins form a vivid pattern. The leaves are attached with a medium-sized purple petiole.

The flowers of the Lucia currant have a bright pink hue. Flowers are collected on a brush, about 6 pieces each.

Black currant Lucia: characteristic of the variety

The fruits look very appetizing and have a fairly large diameter, which distinguishes the crop from other varieties. The weight of one berry can even reach 5 grams. The shape of the fruit is oval. Skin color is black, shiny. At the same time, the peel is quite dense. The fruits contain a lot of small seeds. The berries taste very sweet with a slight sourness. The fruits contain a lot of elements necessary for the human body, including sugars, dry substances, pectin, vitamin C and many other vitamins and microelements.

The fruits are harvested in July, towards the end. The plant begins to bear fruit one year after planting. At the same time, the yield of this variety is assessed as high and stable. One bush can bear more than 5 kg of fruit.

Black currant Lucia: advantages and disadvantages

This fruit shrub has a long list of advantages, including a quick onset of fruiting, large fruit size, yield stability, as well as good resistance to subzero temperatures in winter and various common fungal ailments and parasites.

Of the negative characteristics, only the exactingness of the shrub to regular feeding, which includes organic and mineral fertilizers, as well as the short life of the shrub, is distinguished.

These characteristics should be taken into account when observing the rules of care. Care here is no different from caring for other fruit bushes. This variety is an unpretentious plant, therefore, the plant will not require much attention from the gardener.

Black currant Lucia: planting

Currant Lucia: photo of the variety

The optimal soil for planting currants will be loams. Choose open, lighted areas in order to achieve the maximum quality yield.

The selected planting site should be well dug up and organic fertilizers added there. The size of the planting pit should be about half a meter deep and wide. If you plant several bushes, then the distance between them should be about one and a half meters.

It is imperative to pour about 20 liters of water into the pit, form a mound and place the seedling on the mound, gently straightening the root system. Then everything is covered with the remaining soil, and the currants are again watered with one bucket of water. The area around the shrub is best covered with mulch. Manure or peat is perfect as mulch.

Black currant Lucia: care

The plant loves watering very much, so it should be regular. You should be guided by the weather, but on average it will be once every 7 days. Particular attention should be paid to watering while the fruit is forming and ripening. After the entire crop has been harvested, the shrub also needs to be watered. And in the fall before the onset of winter, so that the plant can more easily survive the winter.

As described above, you need to feed the currants. The plant is very responsive to organic fertilizers. Feeding should be done at least 3 times a year. In addition, mineral fertilizers are also applied. Currants are especially fond of fertilizers, which include nitrogen. It is best to apply such preparations in the spring for a quick build-up of green mass. In this case, fertilization should be combined with watering.

Also, care consists in regularly loosening the soil, weeding weeds. You should especially pay close attention to wheatgrass, which currants do not tolerate very well.

It is useful to feed shrubs and starch. To do this, add a jar of starch to one bucket of boiled water, after which the container is wrapped and left for a while, and then you can start watering.

Diseases and pests

The general care also includes the protection of plants from common diseases and pests. Despite the fact that the shrub has a high immunity and is resistant to popular insects such as kidney mites, hazel grouses, there are other diseases that often affect the shrub. Preventive measures should be followed and the plants should be periodically treated with a manganese solution, Bordeaux liquid or other copper-containing preparations. In addition, drugs such as phytosporin-M and others have proven themselves well.

If you are not a supporter of chemicals, then you can use folk recipes. For example, an effective tincture of garlic, mullein, celandine, wormwood. All this helps to prevent the formation of diseases. If you find insect pests, then you need to apply insecticides.

Shrub formation

Like any plant, the black currant bush needs regular pruning to extend its life and also to produce better fruit. The shoot bears fruit best of all in the first year of growth, then fewer and fewer fruits ripen on it. Therefore, they should be cut in time to stimulate the growth of new shoots.

In the first year, the shrub is usually not pruned, and already in the second year in the fall, it is necessary to cut out all the stems, leaving only 3 or 4 of the strongest and healthiest shoots, while you need to shorten them a little. In the third year, pruning is repeated, also leaving last year's branches and about four young healthy stems, cutting them off by a third. Next year, the old stems are cut off completely, while leaving three or four new young shoots.

Therefore, pruning should be done annually. An adult bush should contain no more than 12 stems in order to bear fruit well and efficiently.

Preparing for winter

Currant Lucia: photo of the variety

The plant is frost-hardy, therefore it is suitable for growing even in Siberia, not to mention the central zone of Russia, which is characterized by a temperate climate. If your region is characterized by cold winters, then you should additionally insulate the shrub with a thick enough layer of mulch to protect the roots from severe frosts.

Harvesting

The fruits of the Lucia currant variety are very strong, dense, so the berries remain intact during harvest. This allows them to be transported over long distances, as well as to store them for a sufficiently long time, observing the optimal indicators of temperature and humidity.

Those gardeners who have grown this plant on their site speak only positively about this variety, focusing on the size and taste of the fruit and other advantages of the shrub.

Conclusion

The black currant variety Lucia is an excellent option for growing, as it has a very large number of advantages and a minimal list of disadvantages. You should follow the simple rules of care, as well as form a bush in time, and then the Lucia currant will delight you with an abundance of tasty and healthy fruits.