Redwing Highbush Cranberry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Redwing Highbush Cranberry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Viburnum trilobum JN Select

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Redwing Highbush 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.

The Redwing Highbush Cranberry is a dense multi-stemmed shrub that blooms with white pinwheel shaped flowers in spring. It produces small, red, and edible berries in late summer. Its leaves are green, but the tips become more saturated with red throughout the season, and then turn a stunning crimson colour in the fall.

The Redwing Highbush Cranberry makes a good addition to any urban garden or hedge, and its berries are commonly used to liven up preserves with their tart flavor.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Redwing Highbush Cranberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Foliage: red tips on leaves
Fall colour: red/orange
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Flowers: white, pinwheel shaped
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Berries: small, red
Flavor: sweet-tart
Flavor: sour
Harvest: mid-summer
Harvest: late August-February
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant