Flowering currant
Plant bare-root in winter or containerised at any time; it establishes fast and needs no staking. The foliage has a strong blackcurrant smell when brushed, which some people dislike — worth checking before planting it by a door.
Care
Flowers best in sun but copes with half a day of shade — one of the reasons it is planted everywhere.
Undemanding once established; no watering needed except in a first-summer drought.
Any reasonable garden soil that isn't waterlogged. It grows on poor, dry ground where more demanding shrubs fail, which is exactly what it is for.
Prune straight after flowering, in late April or May, because the flowers come on last year's wood. Take a third of the oldest stems out at the base each year rather than shearing the outside — that keeps it young and open instead of a bare-legged thicket. An overgrown plant can be cut to the ground and will come back.
Rarely needs anything. A mulch of compost in spring on a poor, dry soil keeps the growth strong enough to flower well; a general feed is worth giving only after a hard renovation prune.
About as easy as propagation gets: hardwood cuttings taken after leaf fall, pushed two-thirds into a sheltered piece of ground, root almost without fail by the following autumn. It is how hedging quantities are raised.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchFlowering starts — the pink tassels open before most shrubs have leaves.
- MarchMulch with compost on poor dry soil; nothing needed on decent ground. how ›
- MayPrune straight after flowering, taking a third of the oldest stems to the base. how ›
- JulyBlack-blue berries form; harmless but insipid, and the birds usually get them first.
- OctoberTake hardwood cuttings after leaf fall — they root almost without fail. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchFlowering starts — the pink tassels open before most shrubs have leaves.
- MarchMulch with compost on poor dry soil; nothing needed on decent ground. how ›
- MayPrune straight after flowering, taking a third of the oldest stems to the base. how ›
- JulyBlack-blue berries form; harmless but insipid, and the birds usually get them first.
- OctoberTake hardwood cuttings after leaf fall — they root almost without fail. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryFlowering starts — the pink tassels open before most shrubs have leaves.
- FebruaryMulch with compost on poor dry soil; nothing needed on decent ground. how ›
- AprilPrune straight after flowering, taking a third of the oldest stems to the base. how ›
- JulyBlack-blue berries form; harmless but insipid, and the birds usually get them first.
- OctoberTake hardwood cuttings after leaf fall — they root almost without fail. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryFlowering starts — the pink tassels open before most shrubs have leaves.
- FebruaryMulch with compost on poor dry soil; nothing needed on decent ground. how ›
- AprilPrune straight after flowering, taking a third of the oldest stems to the base. how ›
- JulyBlack-blue berries form; harmless but insipid, and the birds usually get them first.
- NovemberTake hardwood cuttings after leaf fall — they root almost without fail. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Flowers only at the top, bare woody stems below.
What to do. Renewal-prune a third of the oldest stems to the base each year, or cut the whole plant down once to restart it.
How to spot it. Pink-orange pustules on dead or dying twigs.
What to do. Cut affected wood back into healthy tissue and dispose of it; avoid leaving snags when pruning.
How to spot it. Dark blotches and early leaf fall in a wet summer.
What to do. Clear fallen leaves; improve airflow by thinning the centre. Rarely serious.
Questions
Flowering currant: is it hardy?
H6: Hardy in the vast majority of UK gardens. It survives down to −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Not really — too big and too vigorous, and it earns its keep in open ground where little else flowers in March.
Flowering currant: when do you prune it?
Prune straight after flowering, in late April or May, because the flowers come on last year's wood. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in May.
Flowering currant: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in March–April.
When do you feed it?
Rarely needs anything. A mulch of compost in spring on a poor, dry soil keeps the growth strong enough to flower well; a general feed is worth giving only after a hard renovation prune. Feeding months, UK: March.