Cornelian Cherry Dogwood vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Cornelian Cherry Dogwood vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Cornus mas

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood

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.

Cornelian Cherry Dogwood is an ornamental plant with a variety of uses as it can be grown as a shrub, small tree, hedge, or privacy screen. The bright yellow flowers grow in clusters and bloom in late winter to early spring, providing an early food source for pollinators. They are visually striking as the flowers bloom before the leaves appear and last for several weeks.

Red, cherry-like fruits are produced in midsummer. They are edible but are better suited for preserves and syrups as the taste is fairly sour and astringent, similar to that of sour cherries and cranberries.

The Cornelian Cherry Dogwood was the winner of the Gold Medal Award from The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society as well as the Cary Award for having superior landscape appeal and for being winter hardy and pest resistant.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Cornelian Cherry Dogwood Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 4a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 6 m (20 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Flowers: yellow
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Berries: red
Flavor: sweet-tart
Flavor: sour
Harvest: mid-summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: cornelia cherry, cornelia cherry dogwood, cornelian cherry, cornelian cherry dogwood, european cornel