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Fruit Edible

Ribes aureum 'Black Gem'

golden currant 'Black Gem'

A very hardy, bushy deciduous shrub, yellow flowers are followed by long strings of dark berries. Berries ripen over a free weeks during the summer, pick the fruit once it is fully ripe and almost falling from the bush.

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Ultimate height

1–1.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

1–1.5 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

East–facing or South–facing or West–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)

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: Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun.

Propagation

Propagate by hardwood cuttings in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Cottage and informal garden
Flower borders and beds
Edible fruit

Pruning

Fruiting is best on two and three year old wood so remove some of the oldest shoots each winter.

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

Get involved

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