Lowbush Cranberry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Lowbush Cranberry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Viburnum edule

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Lowbush Cranberry

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.

Lowbush Cranberry is a short, deciduous shrub native to North America. Its white flowers bear sour but edible fruit that ripens to a brilliant red in fall. Lowbush Cranberry's small size makes it suitable for urban use; buyers will also find it useful if trying to reclaim land back to its original species or when landscaping with native species in damp conditions.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Lowbush Cranberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


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


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: high bush cranberry, highbush cranberry, mooseberry, moosomin, pembina, pimbina, squashberry