Silverberry (Wolf Willow) vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Silverberry (Wolf Willow) vs Northern Black Currant

Ribes hudsonianum

Elaeagnus commutata

CUSTOM GROW

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

Northern Black Currant
Silverberry (Wolf Willow)

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.

Silverberry (also known as Wolf Willow) is a common native North American shrub. This beautiful ornamental plant has characteristic silver leaves and fragrant yellow flowers.

Its silver berries remain on the branches through the winter. Silverberry is cold hardy and has some ability as a nitrogen fixer. It can grow on dry to moist sandy/gravel soils. This plant is very low maintenance.

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Silverberry (Wolf Willow) Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, 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: high
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: silvery leaves
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Flowers: yellow
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black, edible
Berries: silver, edible
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, YT, NT, NU
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant
Other Names: american silverberry, silver berry, wolf willow