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Perennial Berry · zones 3–7 · 16 varieties

Currant

Ribes rubrum / Ribes nigrum

Grossulariaceae — the same plant family as gooseberry. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.

Currant (Ribes rubrum / Ribes nigrum) is a perennial berry for USDA zones 3–7. It wants full sun and pH 6–7 soil, with about 1–2 in of water weekly. First real harvest comes in 1–3 yr. Watch for aphids and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 8 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.

Zones 3–7 — USDAest USDA
Sun Full sun
Water Moderate
First harvest 1–3 yr
Mature size 3–5 ft
Spacing 36–60 in
Soil pH 6–7
Frost Very hardy
When to plant curranttypical · zone 6b
Your zone
…or your ZIP, for your real frost dates

Establishing
Flowering
Fruit set
Ripening
Harvest
Dormant

Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.

Growing currantevery fact says where it came from

What we will not put a number on

We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.

We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.

Site & soil

Hardiness zones
3–7est
Sun
Full sun
Soil pH
6–7
Soil texture
Loam, Well drained
Frost tolerance
Very hardy

No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.

The plant

Mature height
3–5 ft
Mature spread
3–5 ft
Growth rate
Moderateest
Spacing in row
36–60 in
Between rows
72–120 in
Planting depth
1 in
Container size
15 gal
Support
Self-supportingest
Grown from
Cutting, Transplant

Water & feeding

Water needs
Moderate
Water per week
1–2 in/wk
Critical water
Fruit setest
Feeding
Moderate

Timing & fruiting

Years to first harvest
1–3 yr
Pollination
Partially self fertile
Harvest cues
Fruit coloring

There is no line here for how much winter cold it needs, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.

Edible parts per source: fruit.

What tends to go wrongmost-cited first
PestsAphidsCurrant borerImported currant wormCurrant fruit flySpider mites
DiseasesPowdery mildewWhite pine blister rustAnthracnoseCurrant cane dieback

Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.

All 16 varietiesthe ones with their own page are linked
Variety TypeHabit DaysColorSizeDiseaseWhat it is known for
Ben Lomond Black Upright — Black WHITE_PINE_RUST POWDERY_MILDEW
Ben Sarek Black — Black WHITE_PINE_RUST POWDERY_MILDEW Royal Horticultural Society describes this assmall enough for a pot · gives a heavy crop
Blackdown Black Upright — Black
Cherry Red Red Upright — Red POWDERY_MILDEW Michigan State University Extension records this asgives a heavy crop
Consort Black — Red, Pink, White, Black Medium WHITE_PINE_RUST
Crandall Clove Heirloom Black — Black WHITE_PINE_RUST POWDERY_MILDEW LEAF_SPOT Michigan State University Extension records this asdraws bees and butterflies
Jonkheer van Tets Red — Red POWDERY_MILDEW Penn State Extension records this asgives a heavy crop
Minaj Smyriou Black — Red, Pink, White, Black WHITE_PINE_RUST POWDERY_MILDEW One Green World describes this astakes the cold
Pink Champagne Heirloom Pink — Pink
Primus White — Red, Pink, White, Black
Red Lake Heirloom Red Upright — Red POWDERY_MILDEW
Rovada Red — Red, Pink, White, Black POWDERY_MILDEW Penn State Extension records this asgives a heavy crop
Tatran Red — Red, Pink, White, Black Large LEAF_SPOT
Titania Black — Red, Pink, White, Black WHITE_PINE_RUST POWDERY_MILDEW Penn State Extension records this asgives a heavy crop
White Imperial Heirloom White Spreading — Red, Pink, White, Black
White Versailles Heirloom White — Red, Pink, White, Black LEAF_SPOT Michigan State University Extension records this asgives a heavy crop
Sources8 cited · 7 organizations
  • Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
  • Penn State Extension
  • South Dakota State University Extension
  • University of Maryland Extension
  • University of Minnesota Extension
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension
  • Utah State University Extension

We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 17 of the 21 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.

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