Common Blueberry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Common Blueberry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Vaccinium myrtilloides

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Common Blueberry

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.

Common Blueberry is an August maturing berry that is wonderfully flavorful and contain more antioxidants by volume than the highbush varieties.
They'll give your baked goods a wonderful pop of flavor.

It isn't as large, pretty, or high yielding as the other varieties we carry. But Common Blueberry is one of the only blueberries that will survive in plant hardiness zones 1A to 2B.

Note: Blueberries require very specific soil conditions. They need well-drained soil with a pH between 4.5 and 5.0.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Common Blueberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Fall colour: yellow, orange, and red
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Flowers: white
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Berries: blue
Firmness: medium
Flavor: sweet-tart
Flavor: tart
Harvest: mid-summer
Harvest: late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, NT, PE
Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: canadian blueberry, sourtop blueberry, velvetleaf blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry