Description
Primus is a white currant with two unusual things going for it at once. It is one of the sweetest currants you can grow, which puts it firmly in fresh-eating territory where most of the crop is a cooking fruit, and it crops astonishingly heavily for a compact plant.
A mature bush can carry up to 20 pounds of fruit on long clusters that pick a whole string at a time. The berries are pale and translucent and high in vitamin C, and the plant has good disease resistance to go with it.
Overview
- One of the sweetest currants of any colour.
- Up to 20 pounds of fruit from a mature bush.
- Long, easy-picking clusters of pale translucent berries.
- Compact, with good disease resistance.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes rubrum ‘Primus’
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: White currants do not announce ripeness with colour the way red ones do. Taste one; they sweeten for a week after they look ready.
- 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
