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

Silverberry (Wolf Willow) vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Elaeagnus commutata

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Silverberry (Wolf Willow)

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.

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.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Silverberry (Wolf Willow) Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 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: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


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


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT, NU
Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: american silverberry, silver berry, wolf willow