Northern Black Currant vs American Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Northern Black Currant vs American Black Currant

Ribes americanum

Ribes hudsonianum

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

American Black Currant
Northern Black Currant

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.

Northern Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub found across Canada and the northern United States. Dark purple to black berries that ripen in summer and provide food for wildlife and humans. Fragrant yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators.

This shrub is well adapted to moist soils and can even survive periods of flooding. It has an interesting bronze colour in fall.

American Black Currant Quick Facts

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to spreading, thicket-forming
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Maintenance: medium
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: gold to red
Flowers: small, yellowish bell-shaped, in clusters
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black, edible
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: tart, variable
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: mid to late summer
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Other Names: eastern black currant, wild black currant
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant