February is the ideal time to prune currants and berries whether you're looking to renovate older plants or trying to maximise fruit yields. Always target and remove the dead, diseased and dying stems first. For blackcurrants I'd look to remove at the base around 1/3 of the oldest stems (the darkest and may have peeling bark) or any misshapen or over-long shoots. This will encourage the growth of more new shoots and focuses energy on the remaining younger stems (paler and grey) which will carry the crop along the length of the main stem this year. All canes of autumn fruiting raspberries can be cut to the ground as they also flower on new shoots. Summer fruiting raspberries need more care as they fruit on the new canes from last year. The best plan is to remove canes which have fruited at the end of the summer so that now you only need to tidy up and remove any damaged or weak growth and ensure the canes that will fruit this summer are nicely tied in to your supports. Definitely give all your raspberries a good mulch. With heavy-cropping red and white currants which fruit on all stems, it may be a case of removing some of the older, darker shoots at the base (again up to 1/3 overall) if plants are woody and congested. This keeps replacement shoots coming and improves airflow. The long main stems and side shoots can be trimmed back to encourage the development of the branching fruiting spurs. You can take a similar approach with gooseberries pruning out the darkest oldest wood to retain the younger stems which are the most productive.
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