Currant Hercules: description of a promising variety, photos, reviews, disadvantages

Botanical description

Hercules is a bush variety with straight-growing, medium-density bushes. Young shoots are green with a slight pink tint, medium thickness or thick. Old shoots become woody, become light brown with a weak shine and a slight coating.

The buds are single, small, located in groups at the top of the shoots, and have a light green color with a pink tint. The leaves of this variety are dense, smooth, large, and three-lobed. Bright green color. The petioles of the leaves are thick, of medium length, pubescent, and light green in color.

The flowers of the plant are medium-sized, open, cream-colored with a pink border. The brushes are long, one per node, green in color with slight pubescence. The peduncles are medium-sized, short, the pubescence is weak. The berries are large, round, black, have a slight shine and a light coating. The skin is thin and quite elastic. Inside the berries there are many small seeds of a light brown color. The berry peel is dry. The calyx is medium, falling. Did you know? Unripe currant berries contain 4 times more active vitamin C than ripe ones; when overripe, the amount of vitamins in the berry decreases.

Characteristics of the variety

A relatively young blackcurrant variety, Hercules, appeared at the end of the last century. The author was an employee of the Siberian All-Russian Research Institute L. Zabelina. Hercules is positioned as a late, large-fruited and productive variety with valuable nutritional qualities.

Attention! The originator offers to grow Hercules currants not only in Siberia, but also in other, warmer regions.

Detailed description of the Hercules blackcurrant variety:

• the plant is tall, the bushes are erect, not spreading;
• The foliage of the shoots is average, which greatly simplifies the picking of berries;
• The thickness of the young shoots is average, they are colored green with a pink “blush”;
• old branches are woody, light brown in color, with a slight waxy coating;
• Currant buds are medium-sized, round-ovoid in shape, located singly;
• Hercules leaves have three lobes, they are glossy, dense, bright green, and large in size;
• the edge of the leaf is finely toothed, the teeth are rounded;
• the leaf petioles are quite thick and short, with slight pubescence;
• flowers of medium size, beige-pink;
• the brushes are long, packed tightly, each of them contains 8-12 berries;
• Hercules fruits are very large - the weight of each berry is from 1.6 to 3.5 grams;
• the shape of the berries is regular, round, one-dimensional;
• the peel is thin, but elastic, has practically no glossy shine, with a slight coating;
• inside the fruit there is a small amount of light brown small seeds;
• cutting the currants dry, which makes Hercules suitable for transportation and short-term storage (the berries do not “drain”);
• the taste of the Hercules variety is considered dessert: strong aroma, sweet pulp with a small amount of sourness;
• self-fertile currant - about 50%, does not need pollinators (but the presence of other varieties nearby increases the yield and has a good effect on the taste of Hercules);
• The variety's yield is excellent - more than 11 tons per hectare, about 3.5-4 kg per bush;
• the plant is winter-hardy, capable of spending the winter without shelter even in Siberia (both the buds of Hercules and its flowers tolerate frost);
• currants have strong immunity to fungal infections such as anthracnose and septoria;
• the variety is unpretentious to the mechanical and chemical composition of the soil - Hercules can be grown on any soil;
• There is a weak resistance of Hercules to the bud mite, so preventive treatments of the bushes are required.

Important! The purpose of the Hercules currant is dessert; it is good fresh, but the berries can be used to make aromatic jams, preserves, and freeze the fruits for future use.

Advantages and disadvantages

Almost all reviews about Hercules black currant are positive: everyone without exception likes this variety. Moreover, the opinion of gardeners does not depend on the climatic conditions of their residence: the crop has proven itself well in the north, south, and center of the country.

The fruits of Hercules are valued not only for their pleasant taste, but also for the composition of this currant:

• 1.7% ascorbic acid;
• 8.7% sugar;
• 2.2% fruit acids;
• 18.4% dry soluble substances.

The disadvantages of the Hercules variety are minor, and the most important of them is the lack of resistance to bud mites. This problem can be solved simply by regularly spraying the bushes twice a year (in early spring and late autumn) and digging up the soil around the plants.

But the Hercules blackcurrant still has many advantages:

• high and stable yield;
• excellent taste;
• large-sized berries (Hercules is one of the largest-fruited varieties in Russia);
• suitability of the crop for transportation and storage;
• excellent winter hardiness;
• high frost resistance of flowers in spring;
• self-fertility;
• resistance to fungal infections;
• unpretentiousness to the composition and type of soil.

Currant variety Hercules is one of the most unpretentious crops of its kind. It can definitely be recommended even to novice gardeners and inexperienced summer residents. The variety has proven itself no less well in industrial plantings: the berries are technologically advanced, the harvest can be harvested by automated machines and used for any purpose.

Reviews of Hercules currant

Popular blackcurrant variety Hercules

Many gardeners know about the Hercules variety. For some it is a favorite, for others it is simply one of many grown on the site. Below are reviews from gardeners who have been growing this variety on their plots for several years.

Marina Bondarenko

: “I have known this currant for many years now - fertile, unpretentious, resistant to disease. In my memory, pests appeared on the bushes a couple of times, but there were no diseases, so I recommend it to everyone!”

Maxim Shevchenko

: “For my grandchildren, the Hercules variety is the most favorite. The rest of the bushes that grow in the garden are somehow not to their liking, too sour, but not this one. The berries are tasty, sweet, I often make preserves or compotes from it for the winter. Useful even after freezing.”

Roman Tatur

: “The Hercules blackcurrant variety is easy to care for. I didn’t do it at all for a couple of years, but the harvests were large. In the third year, I fed the bushes and pruned them, as they had grown so much. In general, I am more than satisfied! This is the best choice for young gardeners.”

Main pros and cons

The key advantages of the variety include the following:

• high yield parameters - up to 4 kilograms of fruit can be obtained from 1 bush;
• easy separation of fruits;
• resistance to fungal infections;
• pleasant taste;
• dense peel.

The main disadvantage of the plant is the lack of resistance to bud mites. However, timely spraying and digging up the bushes helps solve this problem.

Landing

You can plant Hercules black currants in spring or autumn from April to October. It is better to plan work for the first half of September. If spring begins early and summer is too hot, then the bushes may not take root. In this case, it is better to plant them in the fall.

For this variety you need to choose an open, unshaded place. The soil must be fertile. If it is acidic, you need to add lime.

Currant seedlings should be selected that are healthy and without mechanical damage or rot. To prevent kidney mites, they should be placed in a solution for a day - 10 liters of water, 10 g of Agrovertin and 40 g of colloidal sulfur.

For planting, it is better to choose two-year-old seedlings with 2-3 shoots and a well-developed root system.

Hercules blackcurrant bushes should be planted at a distance of 1.5-2 m. You need to prepare holes or trenches with a depth of 0.3 m in advance. It is better to do this two months before planting. Further algorithm:

• Place fertilizers in the pit - compost, humus, horse manure. You can add wood ash or 50 g of potassium and 0.1 kg of superphosphate.
• Add a layer of fertile soil.
• Pour in 5 liters of warm water
• Install the seedling.
• Spread out the roots.
• Sprinkle with earth and compact it. Deepen the root collar by 5 cm.
• Pour in another 5 liters of warm water.
• Mulch the tree trunk circle.

Comment! It is recommended to install currant seedlings at an angle of 45°. This promotes rooting and rapid growth.

Immediately after planting, Hercules black currants should be trimmed to 5-6 buds.

Features of cultivation

Before planting, the sets are soaked in a solution of salt, potassium permanganate or copper sulfate for disinfection.

This is especially important if the planting material was not packaged and stored incorrectly

Crop rotation is also taken into account:

• Can be planted after tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, and melons.
• You cannot plant after garlic, corn, carrots, or sunflowers.

Onion planting dates

The seedlings are planted in the beds in April-early May. By this time, the soil should already warm up to + 10 °C.

Preparing the beds

The beds are prepared according to the following algorithm:

• the area should be sunny, without shade, since onions are heat-loving.
• lowlands are not suitable, as moisture accumulates in them;
• the soil should be light sandy loam, loam and loose chernozem with neutral acidity, saturated with nutrients;
• during winter planting, when digging up the area, add 1 square meter. m 500 g of wood ash;
• for spring plantings in the fall when digging into the ground per 1 sq. m add 2 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potassium chloride, half a bucket of humus (no manure);
• in April additionally by 1 sq. m add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of urea or 1 tbsp. a spoonful of ammonium nitrate.

Planting before winter

Hercules onion sets can also be planted in the fall. Then the harvest will be ready for harvest in late July-early August. Planting material must be planted 15-20 days before the onset of frost. It’s not worth it earlier, otherwise the onion will begin to sprout and its feathers will then freeze, which will negatively affect the future quality and quantity of the harvest. Before winter, it is better to plant the smallest set so that it begins its development as early as possible and produces a rich harvest. After planting, the beds are mulched with dry grass and sawdust, making a layer of about 10-12 cm.

Watch the video! Planting onions before winter. A simple and reliable way

Planting seeds in open ground in spring

• Onion seeds are soaked in growth stimulator Epin, Zircon for 24 hours;
• Place them on a cloth and cover them for 3 days, maintaining humidity; after about 2-3 days they begin to germinate;
• They are planted in grooves 3-4 cm deep evenly every 6-7 cm with an interval between rows of 20-30 cm;
• sprinkle with soil on top.

The seedlings ripen after 3 months; they are collected and stored at optimal temperature and humidity.

Sowing onion sets in spring

Planting sets

Since the heads will grow large, the seedlings are planted in holes at a distance of 15 cm from each other, leaving a row spacing of 30 cm. The treated material is well dried and buried 5 cm into the hole.

Growing and care

Plant care is as follows:

• watering 2-3 times a week from June to July 15;
• after July 16, watering is stopped - you need to focus on the wilting of the feathers. This may happen after August 1;
• after watering, the soil is loosened by 2-3 cm;
• remove weeds.

Top dressing

During the season, onions need to be fertilized 3-4 times, per 1 sq. m use 5 liters of subcortex:

1. When the first shoots appear, 10 g of urea is diluted in 5 liters of water.
2. After 15 days, 20 g of nitrophoska are diluted in 5 liters.
3. Next, use potassium phosphate fertilizers according to the instructions on the package.

Harvest and storage

When the neck of the onion dries and closes, the fruits are dug out with a pitchfork and the feathers are cut off at a distance of about 10 cm.

The heads are dried for 4-5 days in good weather right in the garden. Then they are put into boxes and sent for storage in a dry room.

The seeds of the Hercules hybrid are sown in the ground in the spring in order to dig up a set in July. It is dried, feathers are removed and stored at a temperature of 5-15 °C. In the spring, the sets are planted on turnips.

Care

To obtain a high-quality harvest, it is important to provide the currants with the necessary conditions and proper care. It is imperative to loosen the soil. Excessively compacted soil inhibits plant development, which leads to a decrease in the quantity and quality of the harvest. Only the top layer of soil is loosened so as not to damage the roots of the plant. It is better to loosen after watering.

Read the information on why you need to whiten a currant bush.

Watering is required abundantly, but it is better not to overdo it; 3-4 times per season will be enough, the last one necessarily after fruiting, so that the plants regain their strength. The bush can take the rest of the moisture from natural precipitation. Pruning also needs to be done regularly, then the bushes grow better. In addition, pest prevention is carried out in this way. Usually the bushes are pruned before the buds appear (April), or in the fall, when the harvest is harvested, but before the onset of frost.

When pruning, follow several rules:

• cut shoots level with the ground, without leaving protruding sprouts;
• cut off diseased, deformed, damaged and too old shoots;
• Also cut off branches that fall too close to the ground;
• annually remove a couple of old shoots to rejuvenate the bush.

If you prune the bush correctly, there should be about 15 branches left. Currants should be fed when planting, and then from 3 years from the moment of planting. Apply 1 tbsp under each bush. l. superphosphate and potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. This type of feeding is performed twice a season.

Trimming

Initially, the bushes are pruned immediately after planting, leaving 4 buds. Further pruning is done twice a year. In the spring, remove old and damaged branches before the buds swell, and in the fall after harvesting the last harvest before frost.

The shoots are cut to the ground or to the base of a large branch. Branches that touch the ground must be cut out, as they can cause infection of the bush. Only erect shoots are left, crooked and weak branches are cut out.

If formed correctly, after 5 years there should be no more than 15 shoots on one currant bush.

Diseases and pests

Hercules currants are not affected by anthracnose and septoria. In general, this currant is susceptible to few diseases and parasites, and by following some rules for their prevention, you will get rid of them for good.

• The bud mite is a small insect that overwinters inside the buds of plants. With the onset of warmth, the pest wakes up. Females lay eggs inside young buds, which later stop their development because of this. Signs of the presence of a mite on a bush are curliness and marbling. Infected buds resemble cabbage due to severe swelling. Methods of pest control include manual removal of affected buds, treatment with boiling water or special preparations. To prevent plant infection by bud mites, it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning in a timely manner, plant only healthy seedlings, and timely removal of weeds from the beds.
• Currant glass - the larvae develop inside the stem of the plant, making tunnels there, as a result of which the berries dry out and the leaves turn yellow. You can fight it only with the help of drugs such as Fitoverm or Lepidocid. Prevention - timely pruning of affected shoots.
• The currant borer is a parasite that settles on a bush and slowly eats the stems of the plant. The eggs are laid on the surface of the branches, while clinging to them with mucus. Due to the activity of the pest, the plant weakens. The control method will be to remove the affected branches and treat them with calcium arsenic acid. The essence of preventing borer infection is proper and thorough care.

Reproduction methods

The most popular and convenient methods of propagating currants are vegetative. The easiest of them is propagation by layering. To do this, in early spring, find a branch no more than 2 years old that can be tilted down without damaging it. Under the selected branch, dig a hole 10–12 cm deep and bend the branch down so that its middle part is in the hole, and the top protrudes above the ground.

Don't forget to water the branch thoroughly. Over the summer it will grow into a powerful seedling, then it can be cut off from the parent bush. Then you can transplant the branch to the garden bed.

Propagation by lignified cuttings allows you to harvest seedlings even during winter frosts. To do this, at the end of autumn, branches are cut (cut on both sides) 18–20 cm long. Be sure to cut them before the onset of severe frosts. Cuttings are cut from annual shoots on 2-3 year old branches. It is better to cut them from the middle of the shoot, where it is 8–10 cm thick. Then treat the sections with warm paraffin or garden varnish.

Wrap the cuttings in moistened paper, then in plastic. Before planting, they should be stored by burying them in the snow or placing them in the refrigerator. In the spring, plant the cuttings in the beds, maintaining a distance of 15 cm. Before planting, the tip of the cutting is cut off, leaving an oblique cut.

When planting cuttings, two buds are left on the surface. Then water the beds thoroughly. Place arcs 40–50 cm high over the beds and cover with plastic film. You can remove it when the first leaves appear, then start watering the beds. In the fall you will receive seedlings 30–50 cm long with 1-2 shoots, then you can plant them in the garden bed.

Propagation by green cuttings is a longer and more energy-consuming process; its implementation requires a greenhouse or hotbed with a fog-forming function. Cuttings 5–10 cm long are cut from well-developed shoots, and two green leaves are left on each of them. It is advisable to immerse the base of the cuttings in a liquid growth stimulator for 12–14 hours. During the process, do not forget to ensure that the humidity level is high and the temperature is +18. +24°C.

Video: How to root currant cuttings in water