American Currant

The pretty, double-duty native American Currant Bush (Ribes americanum) is an uncommon native fruiting shrub that is a pleasure for you and your backyard birds! An ornamental Wildlife Shrub that offers more than just fruit!

Beautiful and unusual landscape shrubs with pale greenish-yellow bell-shaped blossoms in spring are a boon for your local pollinators and beneficial insects. The heavily pleated bright green foliage of these textural shrubs soon reveals high-gloss black berries! Closely related to Gooseberry, the toothy, pointed-lobed Maple-shaped leaves fill out the shrub all growing season long!

That's when this bird-friendly shrub becomes aflutter as local and migrating birds descend upon them! Birds aren't the only ones that will enjoy the fruit! Currants bear on a long, flexible stalk-like growth called a 'strig' or fruiting spur. But these superfruits are edible but will need a lot of sweeteners, these are very high in antioxidants! Rich in vitamins and antioxidants, humans too enjoy the berries fresh or cooked. Make jelly, juiced or used for winemaking, or pie, dry or freeze them, and flavor tea!

Unlike other Currants, the deciduous American Currant bush is thornless, so you'll have pain-free picking! Fall brings coppery orange and yellow autumn color. Winter brings further interest as the bare stems show off medium gray bark and curious winged woody ridges. Hardy native deciduous shrubs throughout USDA Planting Zones 3 to 6.

Planting and Application:

Currant bushes are deciduous, fast-growing plants, and used as edible fruit since the 1550s. They produce multiple stems and grow to a rounded naturally tidy informal form. The annual growth is a single flush in the spring, reducing pruning and maintenance on your part.

The American Currant is ideal for edible landscaping, kitchen, pollinator borders, and Rain Gardens as well as mid-sized borders and hedging. Plant in partly shaded hills and slopes for erosion control and eliminate mowing on dangerous inclines.

Currants support many beneficial insects that in turn feed hungry birds and their chicks, while the dense branching provides nesting shelter. Plant in drifts or groupings for wildlife, as 3-5 foot tall and wide windbreaks and blocking drifting snow while providing privacy and screening!

• Greenish-Yellow Blossoms
• Nectar & Pollen Rich for Pollinators
• Tasty Fruit Supports Birds & Feeds Humans
• Textural Pleated Foliage & Dense Branching
• Naturalizing, Erosion Control, Edible Landscaping & Shelterbelts

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Currant shrubs are very cold-hardy and prefer a location with morning sun and part shade in the afternoon. They also require good air circulation. The north sides of a building are typically excellent for Currant plants for maintaining cooler soil temperatures. When soil temperatures exceed 85 degrees, the plants will struggle to thrive. Provide a thick insulating layer of arborist bark chips over the entire root system.

Currants also withstand some of the most intolerable conditions, including city settings or clay soils! In fact, Currants prefer heavy soils that are rich in clay and have good moisture-retention qualities. They will not tolerate alkaline or salty soils. An acceptable soil pH for Currants is between 5.5 and 7.0.

Most Currants will flower and fruit on last year's wood. So the best method to prune Currants is after flowering. You can also renewal prune which involves removing the older thicker branches down to the ground every couple of years - leaving the younger, thinner branches in place to flower and fruit. Removing the older, less productive branches keeps the plants healthier and more vigorous. Remove any branches that are dead, diseased, or lying along the ground. This is great for natural-form shrubs that aren't sheared formally.

• Full to Partial Sun
• Requires Consistently Moist Conditions - Mulch Well
• Highly Adaptable to Loam, Clay, Sandy & Rocky Soil
• Prune Shrubs After Flowering
• Thorn-Free Canes!
• Seldom Damaged By Deer

Order your own double-duty ornamental fruiting American Currant bushes today and start enjoying these versatile and adaptable shrubs for your own landscaping needs! Hardy natives at Nature Hills Nursery!