Ribes rubrum (BÍLÝ/WHITE)

Currant is a well-known fruit cultivated mostly in Europe. It produces racemes with red or white berries in summer. It is grown as a wide bush or trained into a single stem or various other shapes which may make picking up easier. Very attractive are flat espaliers.

VARIETIES

Orion is a Czech variety of white currant. It produces long racemes of medium sized berries. They are sweet and juicy, and mature from midsummer. Shrubs are upright and strong. Very resistant to fungi diseases.

Weisse aus Jüterborg is a white currant variety with medium long racemes of large berries. The taste is very sweet and only a little sour. Mid season.

White Hollander is a midseason white currant variety with long racemes of sweet berries. They are medium-sized and mature from late July. Reliable cropper and disease resistant.

Witte Parel is a Dutch variety of white currant with sweet berries. They are firm, born on long racemes and can be stored for a long time in the fridge or deep frozen. The shrub is upright, densely branched.

Weisse Versailles is a German variety of white currant with long clusters of sweet and tasty berries. They ripen from mid July until late August. Shrubs are not large, they reach about 1.5m tall and wide.

Zitavia is a white currant with long racemes of mid-sized, sweet fruit that matures early in the season. The crop is regular and profuse on a strong growing shrub resistant to common diseases.

CULTIVATION

It can take almost any soil but for best crop use fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun or part shade. In late spring and early summer aphids may be a problem – treat the plant without delay but beware that fruit ripens already in mid-summer so biological weapons are suggested. Pruning is possible in late winter. Canes older than 3 years should be removed to keep the plant juvenile. Usually small plants already set fruit but the best crop can be expected in the third year from planting. Fully hardy.

Last update 12-02-2011; 03-02-2019