Ribes rubrum
Redcurrant
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Pruning
- Feb–Mar
- Harvest
- Jun–Jul
- Spacing
- 120 cm, rows 150 cm
- Water need
- Medium
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Ivar Leidus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Description
The redcurrant bears glossy, tart-fresh berries in trusses from late June, ideal for jelly, juice and cake. It is undemanding, very hardy and delivers a reliable yield as early as its second year in place. Cultivars such as ‘Jonkheer van Tets’ ripen early and abundantly.
Care instructions
Plant the shrub in autumn (October, week 42) in a partly shaded to sunny spot with humus-rich soil. Cut the oldest shoots out at ground level every winter, because redcurrants fruit on wood several years old; keep about eight to ten leading shoots of different ages. Mulch shallowly, because the roots sit just below the surface.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
HarvestJun–Jul
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, moist, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Plant the redcurrant in medium-heavy, humus-rich soil that holds moisture well but does not become waterlogged. On heavy clay soils, make sure of drainage. As a shallow-rooted plant it reacts sensitively to compaction: loosen the soil only at the surface and keep it moist with a mulch layer of grass clippings.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov
Feed organically and early, because growth starts early. In late autumn, work mature compost shallowly in around the bush so that it becomes available over winter. In early spring comes the main dose of compost or well-rotted farmyard manure, supplemented with horn shavings for the early nitrogen demand. A thin mulch layer between doses retains moisture and continuously supplies nutrients. Keep the nitrogen moderate, because too much encourages leaf growth rather than fruit.
Pruning
Redcurrant fruits on two- to three-year-old wood and short fruiting spurs. In late winter (February to early March, when the leafless bush is easy to survey), remove each year 3 to 4 of the oldest main branches over 4 to 5 years close to the ground and let young shoots grow on. Thinning directly after the harvest in summer works just as well.
Overwintering
The redcurrant is fully hardy and needs no winter protection in the bed. In autumn or late winter, cut out only old, spent wood close to the ground. In a container, place the pot sheltered from wind and, in long frost, wrap it in horticultural fleece or hessian so that the root ball does not freeze through.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- Layering
The redcurrant is most reliably propagated by cuttings. To do this, in autumn after leaf fall (October/November), or alternatively in early spring before bud break, cut one-year-old, pencil-thick shoots into pieces about 20 cm long. Make the cuts slightly slanted, just below a bud, so that no water stands on the cut surface. Insert each cutting in loose, humus-rich soil deep enough that at least two buds remain above ground; the rest roots in the soil. Choose a partly shaded spot and keep the substrate evenly moist. By the following summer a root system of its own has formed; in autumn you can move the young plants to their final position. A second method is layering: in spring, bend a long shoot near the ground down to the soil, lightly score the underside in several places, cover this section with soil and fix it with a wire hoop or a stone. The shoot stays attached to the mother plant for the whole season and is only separated in autumn, once it is well rooted; this method has a very high success rate. Sowing is theoretically possible, but does not give true-to-type plants and takes much longer; not recommended for the home garden.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
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Varieties
6 varieties‘Heinemanns Rote Spätlese’
A proven old late variety that ripens its berries only once most other red currants have long been picked.
‘Jonkheer van Tets’
One of the earliest red currants and for decades a dependable classic in the home garden.
‘Junifer’
A French variety that convinces with early, regular and very high yields.
‘Rolan’
A mid to late ripening variety valued for its pleasantly mild, almost sweet flavour.
‘Rote Vierländer’
An old northern German landrace from the Vierlande, the traditional fruit and vegetable growing area south-east of Hamburg.
‘Rovada’
Probably the most productive red currant of all, with exceptionally long, evenly set strigs.
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From the magazine
Where to get this plant
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