Ribes aureum 'Black Gem'

RHS Plant Profile
golden currant 'Black Gem'

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Fruit Edible

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.

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

1-1.5 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
1-1.5 metres

Growing Conditions

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

Position

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)
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
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