Description
This came from a collector who has spent years gathering currant varieties, a good many of them close to vanishing from cultivation. It is an uncommon black currant and worth a place in a garden on that basis alone.
It behaves as a black currant behaves: hardy well into the cold north, self-fertile, cropping on short strings, and wanting the same half to full day of sun and rich moist ground as the rest of the family. The fruit carries the aromatic intensity that makes jam, cordial and cassis worth making.
Overview
- An uncommon black currant from a collector’s holding.
- Full aromatic flavor for jam, cordial and cassis.
- Hardy and self-fertile; wants what any black currant wants.
- For growers who enjoy keeping a rare variety going.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes nigrum ‘New York’
Site and Soil: 1/2 day to full day of sun; rich, moist, well-drained soil
Hardiness: Hardy to USDA Zone 3
Rootstock: Grown from cuttings
Bearing Age: Light crop the year after planting; full crops by the third or fourth year
Size at Maturity: Upright and compact, about 3 to 5 ft tall and wide
Ripening Time: Mid season; July into August
Pollination: Self-fertile; one bush sets a full crop, and a second currant nearby increases berry size
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Write down when it flowers and ripens. For a variety this uncommon, your own record is the most useful one there is.
- Regional Insight: Currants are cool-climate fruit, at their best where summers stay moderate and winters are properly cold.
- Explore more berries in our collection: Berries
