Black, red and white currant bushes--all highly productive even in light shade. If you are into jams and jellies--and what gardeners are not?--then you might explore further,
much further.
Once tasted, though, you're hooked--black current jam and ice cream; red current jelly with roast duck; white currant eaten out of hand.
The good news for city gardeners is the bushes are compact, a metre to metre-and-a-half in height and width, tolerating light shade. All will grow in most soils and will flourish when fertilized in spring and heavily mulched with composted animal manure. All are heavy producers. A single red currant bush can yield four kilograms of fruit.
The bad news, at last for U.S. gardeners, is that many states restrict their planting. They are a co-host of white pine blister rust--but so are many other shrubs. These restrictions, like the present president's claims, are almost certainly false. Eager gardeners there will have to uproot and move north to more blessed locations.
Black Currants,
Ribes nigrum, are native to northern and central Europe and northern Asia. They are known to have been cultivate by Russian monasteries as early as the 11
th century. John Parkinson's famed 17
th-century
Herbal noted that black currants were used in sauces as were the leaves. Today, the fresh fruit are recognized as high in vitamin C and find use in a number of commercial syrups and alcoholic beverages. In England a variation is to add a shot of the syrup to a glass of lager or cider.
Red Currants,
Ribes rubrum, native of northern, eastern Europe; were domesticated in Belgium and France during the late 17
th century. Like their cousin the black currant, they are tart in flavour. This appeals to many continental tastes. Scandinavians add them to fruit soups. A German drink calls for the syrup to be added to soda water, resulting in
johannisbeerschorle.
Sweeter than the red is its cultivar, the white currant is more of a cool climate crop, flourishing further north than its close relations. It is also lower maintenance, requiring a minimum of pruning. This is in contrast to red and, especially black currants, which need regular and, at times, heavy pruning for acceptable production. White currants produce pink jams and jellies, highly esteemed in France and elsewhere, along with wines and syrups.
