The heady fragrance of currants as they ripen in late summer – those sharp, herbal and musky smells – permeate the air every time you brush the leaves to find the fruit below. Although these things feel distant as the garden sleeps, now is the time to get pruning and planting if you are to enjoy these summer delights.
Black, red and white currants establish well if planted now as bare-root plants (this is true for any soft fruit). These are considerably cheaper than containerised ones, so there’s an added incentive. You’ll be able to buy them until the end of February: Chris Bowers, Blackmoor and Ashridge Nurseries all have excellent mail-order services with bare-root options.
Currants grow bigger than you imagine, and need about 1.5m between bushes. If this takes up half your garden, invest in cordons that can be grown vertically up fences and look fantastic. Red and white currants (and gooseberries) can be grown as cordons, but blackcurrants can rarely be tamed and are best grown as bushes.
Currants like sheltered spaces out of strong winds, and do best in full sun. Red- and whitecurrants will grow in shady, north-facing spots, too – the fruit is still good, just very sharp (sugars come from the sun). On the whole, currants grow in any well-drained soil; mulch every spring, especially if your soil is thin. The redcurrant ‘Rovada’ is disease-resistant and neatly sized, and can be grown in a pot. Blackcurrant ‘Ben Sarek’ and ‘Ben Connan’ are good for small gardens, as they are compact, mildew- and frost-resistant and have large berries. If you have space, Ben Hope has the most delicious berries, and does well in poor soil. Whitecurrants have the sweetest fruit – ‘Blanca’ has delicious pearly white berries and is very heavy cropping. It makes a beautiful jelly.
Pruning is easy work, as long as you remember this essential fact: blackcurrants fruit on young wood, whereas white and red currants fruit on old wood. With blackcurrants, leave as much young growth as possible. For the first four years, remove weak, flimsy shoots: aim to have six to 10 healthy shoots. After year four, start to cut out about a third of the oldest wood, taking it right back to the base. Use a pruning saw or loppers to make a clean cut – this will encourage new healthy shoots to form. Also remove any low-leaning ones, as once festooned with fruit, these often sit on the soil and get slugged.
As for red- and whitecurrants, just remove diseased or very old, woody branches. Then, in early summer, prune new growth back to two buds to keep plants compact.
