Golden Currant vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Golden Currant vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes aureum

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Golden Currant
Ben Sarek Black Currant

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.

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.

Golden Currant Quick Facts

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Fall colour: reddish purple
Flowers: yellow
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: glossy black berries
Berries: black currants, edible
Flavor: sweet-tart
Harvest: mid-summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: buffalo currant, clove currant, fragrant golden currant, golden flowering currant, spicebush
Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant