Thimbleberry vs American Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Thimbleberry vs American Black Currant

Rubus parviflorus

Ribes americanum

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Thimbleberry
American Black Currant

Thimbleberry is an ornamental shrub with large, green maple-like-leaves. Flowers are attractive, fragrant, and turn into red-raspberry-like berries. The berries are good for jams, cakes, breads, muffins etc. If you remove the berry, the core resembles a thimble, giving this shrub its namesake.

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.

Thimbleberry Quick Facts

American Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to spreading, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: Soft leaves up to 8 inches across
Fall colour: gold
Fall colour: gold to red
Flowers: white, showy
Flowers: small, yellowish bell-shaped, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: edible, red, similar to raspberries
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: tart, variable
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, ON
Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB
Other Names: thimbleberry, western thimbleberry
Other Names: eastern black currant, wild black currant