Blackcurrant Bush

A friend in my knitting group has just offered me a blackcurrant bush, grown from cuttings she took last year, as a thank you for some yarn I gave her.

She says it'll grow happily in a container, but the patio is getting a bit crowded so I'm considering planting it out in a bed somewhere.

Does anyone have any advice on where to put it? I have no experience with blackcurrant bushes and little experience with growing fruit in general.

 

I think it is a good idea to put the black currant in the ground. I've always seen them do better in the ground than in containers. I think the main danger with currants is drying out so I would try put it somewhere in your garden that has soil that is more moist than elsewhere but they are fairly hardy so should be fine anywhere once it gets settled in. If you are pruning in the winter the branches you choose to cut off can just be stuck in the ground and most will grow into new plants. Thinning them back to just three main stems is said to help them stay productive. Posted a video where I prune one here.

 

Thank you @Macraignil, that's really helpful.

Should I plant it out as soon as it arrives, or wait for a particular time of year?

 

Keeping the root ball intact when planting and giving it some water to settle in would mean you could plant it in the ground at any time and it should do fine. Just give it some extra water for the first couple of months if we get no rain. If it suits you to keep it in the container for a while though that would not be a problem either.

 

That's perfect @Macraignil, thank you so much.

 

It's arrived! It came in a big terracotta pot so I'm inclined to leave it in there for now. Mostly because it's raining and I haven't worked out where it could go just yet.

There's a few fruit on it already. How do I know when they're ready to pick?

 

The ones I have turn from green to black before they are ready to pick but then it is worth tasting one or two before picking all of them as I find they can get sweeter over time. The birds here seem to leave them alone while the red currants and gooseberry are picked as soon as they get ripe.

 

5L Plastic bottle included for scale.






I too was given a blackcurrant plant by a friend. So I popped it into a 25L pot about three years ago.

It was pencil-thick and 6" tall when I got it, now it is over 5' tall and about 3-4" at the base.

Unfortunately, this particular one is a bit of a dud as it does not produce much fruit so it will become a test subject for future experiments.

 

...whoa. @misterQ that's HUGE! I guess I'd better pick a large spot for it then

Thanks @Macraignil - they look quite dark so I think they're probably there, or nearly there. Will investigate later today.