Description
Black currants are not all alike, and anyone who has eaten their way along a row knows it. The genus spans cultivars that are bracing and built for cordial and others that are rounded and generous straight off the bush, and the difference between them is far larger than most catalogue descriptions let on.
Minaj Smyriou is the one people reach for. In comparative tastings of black currant varieties it comes out on top for eating quality, with a rounder, less bracing profile than the cordial cultivars, and growers who keep several varieties tend to name this one as the best of them. It is as good in a bowl as it is in a pot.
It is an Eastern European selection, early in the season and quick to grow to about 5 ft, carrying large berries in heavy clusters. It also holds resistance to powdery mildew and to white pine blister rust, which is worth having in a genus where both are the usual reasons a bush disappoints.
Overview
- Eastern European black currant selection.
- Rated the best tasting black currant by many growers.
- Rounder and less bracing than the cordial cultivars.
- Early season.
- Large berries in heavy clusters.
- Grows quickly to about 5 ft.
- Resistant to powdery mildew and to white pine blister rust.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes nigrum ‘Minaj Smyriou’, also sold as ‘Minaj Smeriou’
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, in line with black currants generally
Propagation: Grown on own roots from cuttings
Size at Maturity: About 5 ft, and quick to get there
Fruit: Large black berries in heavy clusters, rounder and less bracing than the cordial cultivars
Ripening Time: Early, ahead of most black currants
Pollination: Self-fertile
Pests & Diseases: Resistant to powdery mildew and to white pine blister rust. Currants are restricted in some counties and states; check your local rules before ordering
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: If you are only going to plant one black currant, growers who have compared several tend to land on this one, and it is the variety we would put in front of somebody deciding whether the fruit is worth the space.
- Regional Insight: Ripening early means the crop comes off before the worst of midsummer, which matters most in the interior West, the southern Plains and the mid-South where a late-ripening currant sits through weeks of heat; across the maritime Northwest, the Northeast and the Upper Midwest the early window mostly just extends the season at the front rather than solving a problem.
- Currants host white pine blister rust and remain restricted in parts of the United States. This cultivar’s resistance does not change the regulations, which apply to the plant rather than the cultivar. Check your county and state rules before ordering.
- Explore more currants in our collection: Currants
