Flowering currant is a classic example of a serviceable American plant that, when transported to different continents, takes on a personality that is unrecognizable. In the UK, Ribes sanguineum has an old-fashioned British garden look, primly clothed in pendant racemes of magenta. Traditionally they have been paired to clash with the solid yellows of spring, supplied by shrubby forsythia and King Alfred daffodils. So it is fortunate that a calmer version, named ‘Poky’s Pink’, was found by chance at Columbia Gorge in Oregon, while other, quieter cultivars have been bred, earning medals awarded by the Royal Horticultural for general garden merit. Straight species or cultivar, it is a multi-stemmed shrub worth having, prized for bursting into life early in the season. Planted in a relaxed row, flowering currant makes a partially transparent, friendly screen.
Photography by Britt Willoughby Dyer, except where noted.
Above: The subtle color of Ribes sanguineum ‘Poky’s Pink” makes it easy to work with, blending into a woodland edge garden in early spring..
Flowering currant is a decorative shrub more than an edible one (although its berries can be eaten). It is an important food source for non-humans: Besides dark berries in the fall for birds and mammals, early nectar ensures that Ribes sanguineum buzzes with life from February on, attracting bumble bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The leaves are used by butterflies and moths for laying eggs, pupating, and feeding larvae. Flowering currant is as wide as it is tall, sheltering mammals and bugs and birds.
Above: Like regular currants, the attractive, small leaves are aromatic and can be used in puddings and cakes.
A word of caution: Although plant breeding has improved disease resistance, it is best to keep Ribes sanguineum away from pine trees, as the two together create conditions for the fungal disease, white pine blister rust.
Above: The straight species of Ribes sanguineum growing near a lake in Washington State. Image by Walter Siegmund, via Wikipedia Creative Commons.
Away from the restrictions of a neighborhood front garden, flowering currant makes complete sense in the wild, its vibrant colors a welcome contrast to grasses and wood.
Cheat Sheet
Above: Ribes sanguineum ‘Wite Icicle’ (Rubric), for tasteful white gardens, holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit.
- Ribes sanguineum is a deciduous shrub that is hardy to USDA zone 6. It is native to California, Pacific Northwest, and Canadian West.
- Flowering currant is an early bloomer, and is therefore worth placing somewhere prominent, where the flowers and early leaves can be fully enjoyed, when there is little competition.
- Its timely nectar production is of particular value to insects and hummingbirds at the beginning of spring.
Keep It Alive
Above: A handsome hedge. Flowering currant is also well-shaped when left alone.
- Flowering currant is an easy-going shrub that tolerates any aspect, as long as there is plenty of sun.
- It is fine with exposure, as well as less than perfect soil, which can be mainly sand, or clay.
- Like the majority of plants, let’s face it, Ribes sanguineum prefers conditions that are moist but well-drained.
- They can grow to around 10-feet in height and diameter, or more; give them space.
Above: The laurel-leafed currant, Ribes laurifolium, is less obviously a currant due to the texture and shape of the leaves. It is a low-growing, wide shrub native to Western China (not invasive in the US).
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