Golden Currant vs Northern Gooseberry - TreeTime.ca

Golden Currant vs Northern Gooseberry

Ribes oxyacanthoides

Ribes aureum

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Northern Gooseberry
Golden Currant

Northern Gooseberry is a small, ornamental quality native shrub with prickly stems. You can plant it anywhere you'd plant Prickly Rose or Common Wild Rose, such as your yard.

Most people find Northern Gooseberry berries a bit tart for significant fresh eating but they are good for baking, wine or jam.

Golden Currant produces berries for jams, jellies, sauces and even pemmican. This currant bush is very dense, allowing for use as a hedge, windbreak, or wildlife habitat.

This plant is also a very popular rootstock to graft popular red and white currant varieties to. The resulting plants are taller, more productive, and easier to harvest.

Northern Gooseberry Quick Facts

Golden Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 4a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: medium


Fall colour: reddish purple
Flowers: yellow
Berries: purple or purplish black
Berries: glossy black berries
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NL, YT, NT
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: canada gooseberry, canadian gooseberry
Other Names: buffalo currant, clove currant, fragrant golden currant, golden flowering currant, spicebush