Common Snowberry vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Common Snowberry vs Northern Black Currant

Ribes hudsonianum

Symphoricarpos albus

CUSTOM GROW

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Northern Black Currant
Common Snowberry

Northern Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub found across Canada and the northern United States. Dark purple to black berries that ripen in summer and provide food for wildlife and humans. Fragrant yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators.
This shrub is well adapted to moist soils and can even survive periods of flooding. It has an interesting bronze colour in fall.

Common Snowberry is a small deciduous shrub with characteristic white to pink flowers and clusters of white fruit.

This North American native species is very adaptable, and can be used for erosion control in riparian and restoration areas. Snowberry's fruit attracts wildlife, and livestock can consume the berries without issue.

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Common Snowberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: berries toxic to humans
Bark: red-brown shredded bark
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Flowers: pink to white flowers in spring
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black, edible
Berries: white waxy berries
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NT
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant
Other Names: common snowberry