Description
A blackcurrant crop is usually lost in April, not August. The bush flowers early, a late frost comes through after the buds have opened, and the fruit that would have set never does. It is the most common way a healthy plant produces nothing, and it is the problem the Scottish Crop Research Institute set out to breed around.
Ben Lomond, released in 1975, was the first of the “Ben” cultivars that came out of that work, and its defining trait is timing. It flowers up to two weeks behind ‘Baldwin’, which is long enough that the blossom is usually still closed when the frost that would have taken it passes through. On a plant whose crop hangs on one cold night in spring, two weeks is not a detail.
What follows is worth the wait. The fruit is very large, ripens evenly, and comes in heavily from late July into early August on a strong, compact bush. In trial work Ben Lomond carried the highest titratable acidity of the cultivars examined, with sugars below the average, and that is the source of its reputation rather than a caveat: the acid is what carries blackcurrant flavour, which is why this cultivar makes such intense cordial, cassis and jam and why it is one of the most popular we sell.
Overview
- Scottish Crop Research Institute, released 1975; the first of the “Ben” series.
- Flowers up to two weeks later than ‘Baldwin’.
- Late bloom normally escapes spring frost damage.
- Very large fruit, high in acid, which is what gives blackcurrant its depth.
- Heavy crop from late July into early August.
- Strong and compact, slightly spreading with age.
- Self-fertile.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes nigrum ‘Ben Lomond’
Site and Soil: Full sun to part shade, with afternoon shade where summers are hot; moist, well drained soil
Hardiness: Hardy to roughly -40 F, USDA Zone 3, which is the range of the species rather than a figure measured on this cultivar
Propagation: Grown on own roots from cuttings
Bloom Time: Late, up to two weeks behind ‘Baldwin’
Fruit: Very large black berries ripening evenly; high in acid with sugars below the trial average, which is the classic intense blackcurrant profile
Ripening Time: Late July into early August
Pollination: Self-fertile
Pests & Diseases: Currants host white pine blister rust and are restricted in some counties and states; check your local rules before ordering
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: If you have lost a blackcurrant crop to a late frost you already know what this cultivar is for, and if you have not, the two weeks of delay is cheap insurance to build into a planting rather than something to wish for afterwards.
- Regional Insight: The late bloom earns its keep wherever spring arrives and then reverses, which is most of the Upper Midwest, the interior Northwest, the Northeast and the higher elevations of the mountain West; in the maritime Northwest and along the coasts, where hard late frosts are uncommon, the trait costs nothing but buys less, and the reason to choose it there is the size of the fruit.
- Currants host white pine blister rust and remain restricted in parts of the United States. Check your county and state rules before ordering.
- Explore more currants in our collection: Currants
