Blackcurrant vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Blackcurrant vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Ribes nigrum

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Blackcurrant

Ben Sarek Black Currant is a compact, high-yielding Black Currant cultivar, making it ideal for smaller gardens and easy berry picking. The large clusters of flavourful, sweet-tart berries ripen in mid-summer and are perfect for fresh eating, preserves, baked goods, and liqueurs. Plants may start producing some berries after two years, reaching full production in about four to five.

Developed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, Ben Sarek Black Currant is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately resistant to white pine blister rust. It is self-fertile, meaning it does not require cross-pollination from another variety to produce fruit.

Blackcurrant is a medium-sized shrub producing delicious, deep purple to black sweet berries suitable for jams, jellies, syrups and cordial.

Our Blackcurrant is grown from seed from the "Ben" series of Blackcurrant cultivars, developed by the Mylnefield Research Station in Scotland with a focus on cold hardiness and heavy commercial fruit production. Our seedlings will be slightly different due to hereditary differences but will be very similar to this series.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Blackcurrant Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Berries: dark purple to black berries
Flavor: sweet-tart
Harvest: mid-summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: european black currant