Red Currant

Red Currant – Ribes rubrum is a cold-climate berry bush producing vibrant ruby clusters packed with tangy flavour. Loved for jam, cordial, desserts, and garnishes, red currants grow on thornless, compact bushes and yield heavily once established. Fruit hangs in strings and ripens in mid to late summer. Easy to net, prune, and harvest. Birds adore them.

Features
Ideal prune height: 1–1.5 m
pH range: 6.0–7.0
Sun preference: Full sun to part shade
Minimum pot size by year 5: 25 L
Time to fruit: 2–3 years from planting
Harvest period: Late summer
Notable traits: Needs approx. 800–1000 chill hours, self-fertile, productive, high in vitamin C.

Red currants prefer rich, well-drained soil and a cold winter. Without chill, flowering and fruit set is poor. Best suited to the Perth hills, Balingup, Bridgetown, Manjimup and similar cool zones. Coastal Perth rarely reaches the required 800–1000 chill hours.

Red currant is a superb small-space producer if you have the cold. Highly ornamental and bird-attracting, it’s a good pick for food forests, garden beds, or productive hedges.

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