Description
Red Cherry is an attractive small shrub that bears far more heavily than its size suggests. The berries are large for a red currant, juicy and well flavored, carried in the usual hanging strings that make currants quick to harvest.
The compact habit is the practical argument for it. A currant that stays small fits a mixed border or a spot by a path where a 5 ft bush would be in the way, and it still gives you a real crop rather than a token one.
Overview
- Heavy crops of large, juicy red berries.
- A small, manageable shrub for a border or a tight spot.
- Good fresh, and reliable in jam and jelly.
- Attractive in leaf as well as in fruit.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes rubrum ‘Red Cherry’
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: If you have never grown a currant, start here. This is the one that converted us, and it converts most people who try it.
- 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
