Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant
Plant slightly deeper than it was growing in its pot, burying the base of the stems — this encourages the vigorous new shoots from below ground that carry the best crop.
Care
Fertile, moisture-retentive soil, enriched with well-rotted organic matter.
Prune hard every winter, removing up to a third of the oldest, darkest stems at the base — this genus fruits best on vigorous one- and two-year-old wood, unlike red/whitecurrant and gooseberry.
Blackcurrants are the hungriest of the soft fruit: a nitrogen-rich feed in late winter over a generous manure mulch. Unlike most fruit, nitrogen is right here — the crop comes on strong new wood made the previous summer.
Hardwood cuttings in late autumn, 20cm of the year's wood buried with only two buds showing so the plant makes a multi-stemmed stool. It is one of the most reliable cuttings in the fruit garden.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- FebruaryCut out up to a third of the oldest stems at the base while dormant. how ›
- JulyHarvest as currants ripen, mid-to-late summer.
- NovemberMulch generously with well-rotted organic matter after leaf fall. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryCut out up to a third of the oldest stems at the base while dormant. how ›
- JulyHarvest as currants ripen, mid-to-late summer.
- NovemberMulch generously with well-rotted organic matter after leaf fall. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Swollen, rounded buds in winter; can spread reversion virus.
What to do. Remove and dispose of affected buds.
How to spot it. Less common on blackcurrant than gooseberry, but can occur.
What to do. Improve airflow.
RedcurrantWhitecurrant, Gooseberry
Redcurrant
Keep the centre of the bush open from the first prune — good airflow through the goblet shape is the main defence against mildew later.
Care
Gooseberry tolerates more shade than the currants.
Fertile, well-drained soil.
Prune to an open, goblet-shaped framework of permanent branches, spur-pruning side shoots back to 2-3 buds in winter — this group fruits on spurs on older wood, the opposite regime to blackcurrant.
A high-potash feed in late winter, not a nitrogen-rich one — these fruit on short spurs on older wood, and soft nitrogen-fed growth brings mildew and sappy shoots instead of spurs.
Hardwood cuttings in late autumn, but with the lower buds rubbed off so the plant grows on a single clean leg — that open-centred, single-stemmed shape is what makes a gooseberry pickable and keeps mildew down.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- FebruarySpur-prune side shoots to 2-3 buds, maintaining an open goblet shape while dormant. how ›
- JuneThin gooseberries in early summer for larger fruit — the thinnings are usable for cooking.
- JulyHarvest as currants/gooseberries ripen.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruarySpur-prune side shoots to 2-3 buds, maintaining an open goblet shape while dormant. how ›
- JuneThin gooseberries in early summer for larger fruit — the thinnings are usable for cooking.
- JulyHarvest as currants/gooseberries ripen.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- JanuarySpur-prune side shoots to 2-3 buds, maintaining an open goblet shape while dormant. how ›
- JuneThin gooseberries in early summer for larger fruit — the thinnings are usable for cooking.
- JulyHarvest as currants/gooseberries ripen.
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- JanuarySpur-prune side shoots to 2-3 buds, maintaining an open goblet shape while dormant. how ›
- JuneThin gooseberries in early summer for larger fruit — the thinnings are usable for cooking.
- JulyHarvest as currants/gooseberries ripen.
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Caterpillars can strip a bush of leaves within days.
What to do. Check the centre of the bush regularly from mid-spring, remove caterpillars by hand.
How to spot it. Powdery white coating, worse in still, crowded conditions.
What to do. Prune to open up the centre and improve airflow.
Questions
Blackcurrant: is it hardy?
H6: Hardy in the vast majority of UK gardens. It survives down to −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Blackcurrant: Possible for a few years in a large container; cropping is better in open ground long-term. Redcurrant: Possible for a few years in a large container.
Blackcurrant: when do you prune it?
Blackcurrant: Prune hard every winter, removing up to a third of the oldest, darkest stems at the base — this genus fruits best on vigorous one- and two-year-old wood, unlike red/whitecurrant and gooseberry. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in February. Redcurrant: Prune to an open, goblet-shaped framework of permanent branches, spur-pruning side shoots back to 2-3 buds in winter — this group fruits on spurs on older wood, the opposite regime to blackcurrant. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in February.
Blackcurrant: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in April.
When do you feed it?
Blackcurrant: Blackcurrants are the hungriest of the soft fruit: a nitrogen-rich feed in late winter over a generous manure mulch. Unlike most fruit, nitrogen is right here — the crop comes on strong new wood made the previous summer. Feeding months, UK: February–March. Redcurrant: A high-potash feed in late winter, not a nitrogen-rich one — these fruit on short spurs on older wood, and soft nitrogen-fed growth brings mildew and sappy shoots instead of spurs. Feeding months, UK: February–March.