How to Grow Red Currants

Your patio garden has grown into the lush outdoor haven you've always envisioned, but there's just one small empty patch calling to be filled. Why not add a luscious red currant shrub? Red currant shrubs grow to about 5 feet tall and can be trained to fit into any space. The shrubs grow well in most climates, particularly in Zones 3 and 4. Easy to grow and chock full of vitamin C, the tart berries make delicious preserves and pies.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 1-2 year-old well-rooted red currant plants
• fertilizer (without potassium chloride)
• mulch - straw, lawn rakings, composted manure, compost, wood chips or grass clippings
• gardening gloves
• shovel

1. Red currants thrive in cool conditions out of direct sunlight. Select a site that is partially shaded with good air circulation and rich, moist soil. Areas alongside a building or under an arbor are suitable.
2. Clear area of twigs and debris. Mix fertilizer into soil in preparation for planting. The ideal pH is about 6.5.
3. Shrubs should be planted 3-5 feet apart. Dig a hole in the soil slightly deeper than how the shrub grew in the nursery. If planting more than one shrub, dig holes 3-5 feet apart.
4. Set the shrub into the hole immediately. Do not let the shrub roots dry out. Fill in the hole with soil and pat down soil around the roots.
5. Spread 2-3 inches of mulch on the soil around the shrub.
6. Water shrub moderately.
7. Eat currants fresh, preserved or in pies. During first season, remove all flowering growths. A light crop should follow in the second season. You'll have a full crop -- 10-15 lbs. of berries per bush -- by the third season.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant red currants in early Fall or very early Spring.
• Currants are nitrogen feeders, so annual fertilizing is beneficial.
• Mulch keeps soil cool in summer, retains moisture and controls weeds.
• Currants ripen during a 2-week period in June. Wait for berries to turn ruby-red before picking.
• Prune shrub while dormant in early Winter or early Spring.
• Currant aphids can cause leaves to fall off and stunt fruit growth. Insecticidal soap can stop aphid proliferation.
• Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that occurs in warm, humid conditions. Pruning and disposing infected branches solves the problem.