Shrub · Grossulariaceae
Currant
Ribes rubrum
Tough, cold-loving, and dripping with tart berries, the currant is a friendly pick for a cool garden.
Full sun
Every 5–7 days
USDA 3–7
3–6 ft · 0.9–1.8 m
Overview
The currant is a small deciduous shrub that's grown for the clusters of glossy berries it hangs out in early summer. It's part of the genus Ribes, the same crew as the gooseberry, and the garden kinds split into the bright red and pale white forms of Ribes rubrum and the darker, muskier black currant, Ribes nigrum. Straight off the bush the fruit is sharp and tart, so most of it ends up in jam, jelly, juice, or a pie.
Does your garden get cold? Then this plant's right at home, since it shrugs off winters down to -40°F (-40°C) and crops well in the cool, short summers of USDA zones 3 to 7, where fussier fruit just sulks. The bush stays compact at 3 to 6 feet (90 to 180 cm) tall, puts up with a fair bit of shade, and sticks around for years once it's settled.
There's one thing to sort out first, though. Currants are an alternate host for white pine blister rust, a disease that needs both a currant and a five-needle white pine to finish its cycle, so some states still limit planting, and black currant most of all. Check the local rules, keep the bushes away from white pines, and after that you've got one of the easiest fruits a beginner can grow.
Care
The short version: full sun to part shade, rich well-drained soil that stays evenly moist with roughly an inch of water a week, and one late-winter prune a year to keep the canes young and the berries rolling in.
Light
Currants like full sun best, since that ripens the biggest crop, but they're easygoing about partial sun and even partial shade better than most fruit. Got hot summers? A bit of afternoon shade keeps those shallow roots from cooking.
Water
Give it about 1 inch of water a week, and don't let the bush go dry while the fruit is setting. The roots are shallow and fibrous, so a layer of mulch really earns its keep, holding moisture in and keeping the soil cool.
Soil
Plant it in rich, well-drained loam with plenty of organic matter mixed in. A slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 6.5 is just what it wants.
Temperature
This one's genuinely cold-hardy, taking winters as low as -40°F (-40°C) and putting up with summer heat up to about 86°F (30°C). It does its best fruiting where the summers stay cool.
Humidity
Average humidity around 40% to 60% is fine, so don't stress about it. What matters more is air moving through the bush, because still, damp growth is exactly where mildew and rust like to start.
Feeding
Feed it just once a year, in late fall or early spring, with a few shovelfuls of composted manure or a balanced nitrogen source per plant. Spread it around the bush instead of dropping it in the planting hole, where it can burn the roots.
Pruning
Prune every year in late winter while the bush is dormant. Fruit forms on 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old wood, so just keep 3 to 4 canes of each age and cut out anything older than 3 years to keep the bush renewing itself.
Repotting
Currants almost always grow in the ground, so repotting usually isn't a thing. If yours is in a container, move it up every 2 to 3 years while dormant, or sooner if the roots start circling or the pot dries out fast.
Size & spacing
A grown bush hits 3 to 6 feet (90 to 180 cm) tall and spreads 3 to 5 feet (90 to 150 cm) wide, so give it that much room. With space like that, air moves through easily and disease stays down.
When to plant
So when does it all happen? Currants run on a cool-season schedule, so you'll set out dormant plants in late fall or early spring, see greenish flowers show up in April and May, and pick the ripe berries through June and July.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Late fall or early spring while plants are dormant, using 1- or 2-year-old stock
- Harvest: Greenish flowers in spring (April to May); berries ripen June to July
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–7
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Here's the good part: most currant trouble lands on the leaves and canes, and the bush usually flags it early. Get to know the few common problems below and you'll catch them before they spread. Just match what you're seeing, then act while it still does some good.
Orange spots on leaves that drop too early
Those yellow-orange pustules and the early leaf drop point to white pine blister rust, and the currant's only half the story here. The fungus has to reach a five-needle white pine to finish its life cycle, so a sick bush passes the trouble along to nearby pines. Pull out badly infected plants, keep your currants well away from white pines, and go for resistant or immune cultivars to make life easier.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy heavily infected Ribes plants
- Plant rust-resistant or immune cultivars
- Keep currants away from white pines
A white powdery dust on leaves and shoot tips
See a pale, powdery film on the leaves and warped new shoots? That's powdery mildew, a fungus that loves crowded, shaded growth. Open the bush up with some pruning so air can move through, and snip off the worst-coated tips. You'll only really need a labeled fungicide if the infection gets totally out of hand.
Fix:
- Prune to open the canopy for airflow
- Remove and destroy infected shoot tips
- Apply a labeled fungicide only if infection is severe
One cane wilting from a hollowed-out middle
When a single cane wilts and dies back but the rest of the bush looks fine, the currant borer is probably to blame, since it's a clearwing moth larva tunneling through the center. Slice a dying cane open and you'll spot the hollow channel inside. Prune the infested canes right to the ground and burn them, and freshen the bush every year by clearing out the old wood the borers go for.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy infested canes to the ground
Red, puckered blisters on spring leaves
Those red welts riding on top of the leaf? That's the currant aphid feeding away underneath. Flip a leaf over and you'll find the little colonies bunched along the veins. Hit the undersides with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and let ladybugs and other predators tidy up whatever's left.
Fix:
- Spray insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on undersides
- Encourage beneficial predators such as ladybugs
Toxicity
Want the easy answer? The true garden currant is safe all the way around. The berries are food, and neither the fruit nor the leaves will poison your pets, livestock, or family. The only real warning isn't even about this plant, because the dried 'currants' sold for baking are actually little raisins, and grapes and raisins do hurt dogs, so keep those off the floor.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
The true Ribes currant isn't toxic to cats. Most cats ignore the shrub anyway, and a nibbled leaf won't do any harm.
Dogs Safe
The living plant and its fresh berries are safe for dogs. If a dog gorges on a lot of fruit it might get a passing bout of loose stool, but that's about it.
Horses Safe
Horses can browse the foliage no problem, since nothing in the currant bush is poisonous to them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the leaves and fruit safely. Just keep treats modest, because too much sweet fruit can upset a small gut.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep aren't harmed by the plant, so they can graze around it with no risk.
Birds Safe
Birds love ripe currants, and the berries are good for them, so net the bush if you want any of the crop left for yourself.
People Safe
For people the berries are a real food crop, eaten fresh or cooked into jams, jellies, and juice. There's nothing here to worry about.
No special handling needed for the living Ribes shrub or its fresh berries.
Varieties
Currants come in red, white, and black, and there are a few named kinds worth knowing too. These are the ones you'll bump into most often.
Black currant (Ribes nigrum)
It's a close cousin grown for its aromatic, musky black berries, and it catches white pine blister rust a lot more easily than red currant, so some US states restrict or ban it outright.
White currant
It's a pale, see-through form of Ribes rubrum, and it tastes sweeter and milder than the red type.
Red Lake
It's a heavy-cropping red currant that hangs its bright fruit in long clusters called strigs, and you'll find it in more gardens than almost any other.
Titania
It's a vigorous black-currant type that climbs to around 6 feet and shrugs off disease better than most.
Companions
Currants get along with their fellow Ribes but should be kept clear of white pines, which they trade a serious disease with.
Plant near
Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa): A fellow Ribes with the same cool-climate, partial-shade-tolerant culture, so it grows easily alongside currants under matching care.
Keep apart
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus): Ribes is the alternate host for white pine blister rust; planting currants near 5-needle white pines spreads the disease to the pines.
How to propagate
Want more currants? They're easy to multiply, and both of the usual methods hand you new plants that match the parent exactly.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Take dormant hardwood cuttings in late winter; semi-hardwood cuttings can be taken mid-July to first freeze · Roots form within one growing season; a transplantable plant in 1 to 2 years
Cuttings are the usual way to get more currants, and they grow true to the parent. Take 8 to 10 inch lengths of mature, dormant wood in late winter, or softer semi-hardwood pieces from mid-July to the first freeze. They root over a single growing season and they're ready to move on as plants in 1 to 2 years.
LayeringEasy
Spring through summer · Rooted layers ready to sever the following dormant season
Layering's even easier. Just bend a low outer branch down and pin it to the soil any time from spring through summer, and it'll put down roots right where it touches the ground. Then cut the new plant free from its parent the following dormant season, and you've got another one.
Myths
Currants are dangerous to dogs since dried currants are toxic.
This one comes down to a shared name, so you can let it go. Those dried 'Zante currants' on the baking aisle are really raisins made from tiny Corinth grapes, and yeah, raisins do harm dogs. But true garden currants in the genus Ribes, red, white, and black, are a totally different plant, and they're safe.
Growing any currant is illegal in the United States.
Good news here, because the old federal ban that once tried to slow white pine blister rust got lifted way back in 1966. These days it's down to your own state, and it's black currant (Ribes nigrum) that draws the most restrictions, since it carries the rust more readily than the red or white kinds.