Ribes × beatonii

RHS Plant Profile
Gordon's currant

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Ribes × beatonii?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
Gordon's currant RHS

Other common names

Beaton's currant

Synonyms

Ribes × gordonianum

Shrubs
Buy this from Plant Nurseries
15 Suppliers

A spreading deciduous shrub to 2m tall, with aromatic, lobed dark green leaves and dense nodding racemes of small, red and yellow flowers in early summer

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

1.5-2.5 metres

Max Spread

1.5-2.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
5–10 years
Max Spread
1.5-2.5 metres
Max Height
1.5-2.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H6

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Grossulariaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Ribes can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes spiny, with simple, usually palmately lobed leaves and small tubular or bell-shaped, solitary or racemose flowers borne in spring or summer, followed by juicy, sometimes edible berries
Name Status
Correct

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in any moderately fertile soil in full sun

Propagation

Propagate by hardwood cuttings in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Hedging and screens

Pruning

Pruning group 2 or pruning group 13, if walled-trained, in late summer

Pests

May be susceptible to gall mites, gall midge and aphids

Diseases

May be susceptible to a leaf spot, powdery mildews, coral spot and sometimes honey fungus