Pygmy Caragana vs American Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Pygmy Caragana vs American Black Currant

Caragana pygmaea

Ribes americanum

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Pygmy Caragana
American Black Currant

Pygmy Caragana is a shrub that is related to Common Caragana and has a compact size that is suitable for yards with limited space. Its size is perfect for landscaping and decorative hedges, and requires little maintenance. This nitrogen fixer has fine-textured foliage and small yellow flowers. Much like Common Caragana, it is hardy and drought tolerant.

Popular as a low maintenance commercial landscaping shrub and for hedging. This species does have tiny spines that might poke you a bit. It has a nice appealing texture when mature.

American Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub known for its clusters of small black berries that ripen in mid-to-late summer. The berries are edible and have long been used for fresh eating, preserves, and baking. They provide food for birds and mammals, and their fragrant spring flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

American Black Currant’s foliage serves as a host plant for butterfly species such as the Green Comma and Gray Comma, and its dense branching offers cover for wildlife. The shrub has traditionally been planted in shelterbelts, riparian buffers, and restoration projects.

Pygmy Caragana Quick Facts

American Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to spreading, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: gold to red
Flowers: prolific tiny yellow pea-like flowers
Flowers: small, yellowish bell-shaped, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: tart, variable
Harvest: mid to late summer
Seeds: prolific seedpods are edible
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB
Other Names: pygmy peashrub
Other Names: eastern black currant, wild black currant