Currants are one of the most rewarding small fruits you can grow in a northern garden. Hardy enough to handle brutal northern garden winters, productive enough to fill your kitchen with berries year after year, and beautiful enough to earn a place in an ornamental border, they are a plant that truly earns its space. Whether you are drawn to the deep, complex flavor of black currants, the bright tartness of red currants, or the gentle sweetness of white currants, there is a variety suited to your soil, your space, and your climate. Once established, currant bushes ask for very little and give back generously, often producing for 15 to 20 years with basic care.

Steps to ensure currants thrive in your garden

Choosing the right site

• Select a location with full sun to partial shade. Currants tolerate more shade than most fruiting shrubs.
• Avoid low-lying frost pockets, as late spring frosts can damage blossoms.
• Good air circulation helps prevent fungal disease.

Soil preparation

• Currants prefer well-drained, fertile soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5.
• Amend with compost before planting to improve drainage and fertility.
• Avoid heavy clay or very sandy soils without amendment.

Planting

• Plant in early spring or fall.
• Space plants 4 to 5 feet apart, or 5 to 6 feet for larger varieties.
• Plant slightly deeper than the nursery container level to encourage strong root development.
• Water thoroughly at planting.

Ongoing care

• Water regularly during the first growing season and during dry spells.
• Mulch around the base with wood chips or straw to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
• Fertilize in early spring with a balanced fertilizer or a top dressing of compost.
• Prune annually in late winter or early spring. Remove wood older than 3 years, as currants fruit best on 1 to 3-year-old canes.
• Watch for powdery mildew and aphids. Good air circulation and proper spacing help prevent both.

Currant propagation

From hardwood cuttings (easiest method)

1. In late fall or early winter after the plant goes dormant, cut pencil-thick stems into 6 to 8-inch sections.
2. Each cutting should have at least 3 to 4 buds.
3. Bundle the cuttings and store them in slightly damp sawdust or peat in a cool location, or refrigerator, over winter.
4. In early spring, plant cuttings outdoors with only 1 to 2 buds above the soil line.
5. Keep moist throughout the growing season. Roots will develop and new growth will emerge.
6. Transplant to a permanent location the following spring.

From softwood cuttings (summer method)

1. In early summer, take 4 to 6-inch cuttings from new growth.
2. Remove lower leaves and dip the cut end in rooting hormone.
3. Insert into a pot of moist perlite or potting mix.
4. Cover loosely with plastic to retain humidity.
5. Keep in bright indirect light. Roots typically form in 3 to 4 weeks.

By layering

1. In spring, bend a low-growing cane to the ground.
2. Bury a section of the cane a few inches deep, leaving the tip exposed.
3. Pin it in place with a U-shaped stake or a rock.
4. By fall the buried section will have rooted. Sever from the parent plant and transplant.

Currant varieties for northern gardens

Black Currants

• Consort is a classic, disease-resistant variety well-suited to cold climates.
• Titania is a high-yielding Swedish variety with excellent cold hardiness and resistance to white pine blister rust.
• Ben Sarek is compact and very productive, good for smaller spaces.
• Crusader is a Canadian variety bred specifically for cold hardiness and blister rust resistance.

Red Currants

• Red Lake is a longtime Minnesota favorite, very cold-hardy and reliable.
• Rovada produces large, flavorful berries on long clusters and handles cold well.
• Jonkheer van Tets is an early-ripening variety with excellent flavor.

White Currants

• White Imperial is a mild, sweet variety that does well in northern climates.
• Primus is a newer European variety with large berries and good cold tolerance.

Jostaberries (black currant and gooseberry hybrid)

• Extremely cold-hardy, disease-resistant, and productive. A great low-maintenance option for northern gardens.

Where to buy currants online

These are reputable nurseries that ship bare-root or potted currant plants.

• Raintree Nursery offers a wide selection of currant varieties including specialty and heirloom types.
• One Green World at onegreenworld.com carries an excellent range of black, red, and white currants including many European varieties.
• St. Lawrence Nurseries specializes in cold-hardy fruit trees and shrubs and is an excellent source for northern gardeners.
• Stark Bros carries popular varieties and ships widely.
• Fedco Trees is a cooperative nursery in Maine with a strong focus on cold-hardy varieties and is a favorite among northern growers.
• Jung Seed is a Wisconsin-based company that carries currants suited to northern climates and ships to Minnesota.
• Burnt Ridge Nursery offers a solid selection of currants and other small fruits.

A few tips when ordering online

• Order early in winter or early spring, as stock sells out quickly.
• Look for varieties labeled as blister rust resistant, especially for black currants, as federal and some state regulations have historically restricted certain currant species near white pine forests.
• Check Minnesota-specific shipping restrictions before ordering, as some states have rules around Ribes species.

History and origins of currants

Currants have a long and fascinating history that stretches across centuries and continents, moving from wild woodland edges to royal gardens to the kitchens and homesteads of ordinary people around the world.

Wild origins

Currants belong to the genus Ribes and are native to temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Black currants grew wild across northern and central Europe and Siberia, while red and white currants were found along forest edges and riverbanks from western Europe into Russia. Indigenous peoples of North America had their own native Ribes species, which they used for food and medicine long before European settlement.

Early cultivation in Europe

Currants were first cultivated in northern Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and northern France, sometime in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were valued initially for their medicinal properties as much as for their flavor. Black currants in particular were considered a powerful remedy for sore throats, colds, and inflammation, a reputation that has since been supported by modern research confirming their exceptionally high vitamin C content.

By the 17th century currants were being grown in monastery gardens and estate gardens across Britain and Europe. They appeared regularly in early herbals and garden manuals, and recipes for currant wines, preserves, and syrups began appearing in household cookbooks of the era.

Currants in Britain

Britain developed a particularly strong currant culture. Red and white currants became staples of the English kitchen garden, used for jellies, summer puddings, and wines. Black currant cordial became a beloved remedy and everyday drink, and Ribena, the famous black currant syrup, was developed in Britain in the 1930s and distributed to children during World War II as a vitamin C supplement when citrus imports were cut off.

The Royal Horticultural Society and British nurseries developed dozens of named varieties through the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which remain in cultivation today.

Currants in Scandinavia and Northern Europe

In Scandinavia, Russia, and the Baltic states, currants became deeply embedded in food culture. Black currant jam, juice, and liqueur became pantry staples. In Finland and Sweden, currant bushes were planted in nearly every home garden. The tradition of picking wild and cultivated currants in summer and preserving them for winter remains strong in these regions today.

Arrival in North America

European settlers brought currants to North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, and they became a common feature of colonial and frontier gardens. They were easy to grow, productive, and provided valuable fruit in climates where other fruits struggled.

However, in the early 20th century currant cultivation in the United States was dealt a serious blow. It was discovered that Ribes species could serve as an alternate host for white pine blister rust, a devastating fungal disease threatening the American timber industry. The federal government banned currant cultivation in 1911, and many states followed with their own restrictions. Millions of plants were destroyed.

The federal ban was lifted in 1966 and regulation was returned to individual states. Most states, including Minnesota, now allow currant cultivation, though some restrictions on certain species near white pine forests remain in a handful of states. The ban had a lasting cultural effect, however, leaving several generations of Americans largely unfamiliar with currants as a food crop while they remained popular throughout Europe.

The revival

Since the 1990s and accelerating through the early 2000s, currants have been experiencing a steady revival in North America. Renewed interest in home food production, heirloom and heritage fruits, and locally grown food has brought currants back into home gardens and small farms. Breeders in Canada and the United States have developed new blister rust-resistant varieties specifically suited to North American growing conditions, making currants easier and safer to grow than ever before.

Today currants are recognized not only for their culinary value but for their remarkable nutritional profile. Black currants in particular are among the most antioxidant-rich fruits in the world, and interest in them as a functional food continues to grow.

Currants in Minnesota

Minnesota’s climate, with its cold winters and relatively short growing season, is actually ideal for currants. The University of Minnesota and Canadian agricultural programs have both contributed to developing cold-hardy, disease-resistant varieties well suited to the Upper Midwest. Minnesota gardeners have a long tradition of growing currants, and the fruit has a quiet but devoted following among home gardeners, foragers, and small-scale fruit growers across the state.

Keepsakes

There is something quietly profound about growing currants. We are participating in a tradition that stretches back centuries, tending a plant that fed and healed people through long northern winters long before grocery stores existed. In Minnesota, where the seasons are dramatic and the winters are unforgiving, currants feel especially at home, and so does the instinct to grow them. They ask for patience in the first year or two, and they reward that patience with decades of generous harvests. Whether we are making jam for our own pantry, filling our freezer with berries for smoothies and baking, pressing juice, or simply watching the clusters ripen from green to jewel-bright red or deep purple-black, currants bring a particular kind of satisfaction that is hard to find elsewhere in the garden. They connect us to the land, to older ways of living, and to the quiet pleasure of growing something real. Plant a few bushes this season, tend them well, and they will become one of the most treasured corners of your garden for years to come.

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