By Heidi Rader
My favorite berries are blueberries (wild Alaska ones, of course) and raspberries, but I also have a special place in my heart for currants.
Like many Americans, currants aren’t a mainstay. I first heard about the berry from my grandma in Anchorage. She was fanatic about them, currant jelly specifically. But I didn’t really appreciate them until later in life when I took a berry class from Pat Holloway. Importantly, I learned to identify them. This is an important first step in identifying any wild berry, particularly if there is a poisonous berry that is a similar color (there is and it is baneberry).
Wild currants can also be mistaken for highbush cranberries. Unlike highbush cranberries and lowbush cranberries, which are too tart for me to want to eat fresh — highbush are also too seedy — I like fresh currants. I also like them made into syrup and jelly. You can make currant jam, but it’s not easy. I prefer eating red currants fresh to black currants because their skin is much thicker. However, black currants have even higher antioxidant and vitamin C levels than red currants.
Six species of black and red currants are native to Alaska. Searching Ribes in plants.usda.gov via the Alaska state search will bring up all the species of Ribes in Alaska, including gooseberries. I’ve never seen them in quantity enough to pick many in the wild, but that may change along with the climate. In the wild, I find currants in the understory of forested areas, so unlike many berries that prefer full sun, you can grow currants in partial shade.
Dozens of varieties of currants can be grown in gardens and on farms. They come in a range of colors: black, red, golden, pink and white. Many of these varieties or cultivars may never have been formally trialed in Alaska.
Even if they were trialed at one point, those varieties may no longer be widely available for various reasons, and our winters may have warmed enough to allow other varieties to thrive. According to the Alaska Garden Helper, Fairbanks may be transitioning from a Zone 2b (1980-2009) to Zone 4a (2010-2039). It’s always a good idea to talk to local berry farmers or visit botanical gardens to see which berry plants and perennials do well.
Gooseberries are also in the Ribes genus. They are spiny, which makes them much less pleasant to grow and harvest. However, the size of their grape-sized berries may convince me to grow them someday.
Choosing which currant cultivars to grow
Depending on the growing conditions in your region of Alaska, several important factors must be considered when starting a currant patch and choosing which variety to grow. These factors include taste, productivity, cold hardiness, ripening period, and disease resistance.
Red currants, Jonkeer Van Tets, Red Lake, Rovada, Viking are widely available. Jonkeer Van Tets has been touted as one of the best-tasting and most productive varieties by nurseries. It is also early to ripen. However, according to the Alaska Master Gardener manual, it is not well suited to coastal Alaska.
On the other hand, I have seen it recommended for Southeast Alaska elsewhere. I have seen Red Lake grown in Interior Alaska. Rovada and Viking have been recommended for Southeast Alaska. Alaska Berries in Kenai recommends Swedish Black currants as well as Red Lake and Holland Longbunch (red currant). I did not see that Holland Longbunch was widely available, however, Alaska Berries sells berry plants at their farm.
For black currants, Swedish Black, Consort, and Crandall are widely available and have been recommended for Alaska in the past. Black September seems to be a popular, widely available variety as well but I have not seen any recommendations for this variety.
Aleya Brinkman with the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District orders currants for the annual tree and shrub sale. They sold American Black Currants in 2018 and gardeners reported that they did well. Brinkman has successfully overwintered Jonkheer Van Tets, Rolam, and Minnesota 52, but after several years they are just starting to produce.
Oregon State University Extension recommends Ben Sarek and Titania for black currants as well as Cherry Red, Jonkeer Van Tets, Perfection, Red Lake, Rovada, Wilder for red currants. I always like to see what OSU recommends for varieties since the Pacific Northwest is one of the primary berry production regions in the nation and is likely able to formally trial many varieties which are not able to do in Alaska at this time.
Tried & true, widely available red currants
Jonkeer Van Tets, Red Lake, Rovada and Viking
Red currants worth trying
Holland Lungbunch, Cherry Red, Perfection and Wilder
Tried & true, widely available black currants
Swedish Black, Ben Sarek, Consort and Titania
Black currants worth trying
Black September; also, American Black Currant is native to a good portion of Canada and the Lower 48 states and has done well in Fairbanks.
Where can you find currant plants?
Check nurseries in Alaska or locally in the spring for currant plants. Some nurseries in Alaska will ship plants. Bare root berry plants are often available at local soil and water conservation districts’ spring tree and shrub sale. Or order them online from a company that ships to Alaska like the following companies: One Green World, Nourse Farms, Raintree Nursery, and Indiana Berry Company.
Growing Currants
Planting
It’s best to plant currants in the spring or fall. You’ll want to find a sunny spot, with some afternoon shade (particularly in areas of Alaska where it gets hot, like Fairbanks). Plan on spacing red currant plants about three to four feet apart in rows. Black currants should be spaced four to five feet apart, the rows planted at least seven feet apart. They prefer well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter.
According to Oregon State University Extension, currants prefer a pH of 5.5-6.5. They recommend fertilizing each plant with 0.5 ounce nitrogen in year 1, 0.5 ounce N per plant at bud swell in the spring, and more as needed in year 2, a little more in the third year, 0.5 ounce at bud break and 0.5 ounce in mid-late June in the fourth year. Mulching with wood chips or other organic matter will also help the currant bushes.
Pruning
Pruning is essential to maximize production. Techniques will vary depending on how old your plant is as well as if you’re pruning red or black currants. Red currants produce most on 2- and 3-year-old wood, while black currants produce most of their fruit on 1-year-old wood. For red currants, you’re shooting for nine to 12 main canes and an equal mix of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old canes.
For black currants your goal should be 10 to 12 canes per bush with half that are 1-year-old shoots and the rest 2- to 3-year-old canes. Anything older than 3 years old should be pruned as well as the weaker new growth. The ideal time to prune is early spring, when the plant is still dormant and when you can see what damage may have occurred over the winter.
Here is an illustrated guide to pruning red currants. You’ll also want to prune right after planting currants — down to 1 inch. How do you tell how old the wood is? New growth is pale tan, 2-year-old wood is gray, and older wood is blackish.
Harvesting
Currants mature in late July or early August in Alaska. Berries will turn red and translucent. Your currant bush will start creating berries a year after planting, but will continue to produce larger harvest each year. Prune old canes once their production decreases. For red currants, you can harvest the entire bunch (also called strig or truss) of currants and strip the currants off the stems when you plan to eat or preserve them. You can harvest black currants individually.
Pests and disease
The biggest pests in Alaska are powdery mildew and currant sawflies. You can use an insecticidal soap to control the sawflies. Giving your plants adequate space and planting on a slope with help with airflow and minimize the powdery mildew. You can get help identifying a disease or insect here.
Eating and cooking with currants
One of my favorite ways to use currants is in a mixed red berry syrup. I pick highbush cranberries, rose hips, and currants and mix them together for a lightly sweetened syrup. You may have more luck finding currants in European or Scandinavian cookbooks and blogs than American ones.
Upcoming Currant Festival
If you’re excited about growing currants and want to learn more, attend the Far North Currant Festival from 1-4 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Georgeson Botanical Garden.
Heidi Rader is a professor of Extension and project director for the Alaska Tribes Extension Project. This work is supported by the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program Project 2022-41580-37957. It is a partnership with Tanana Chiefs Conference. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
