GrowingHQ
FruitStraightforward

Redcurrant

Ribes rubrum

Pruned as a spur system on a permanent framework, which is the opposite of a blackcurrant and the source of endless confusion. That framework is also what makes redcurrants trainable: a cordon against a wall takes up almost no ground and crops well, including on a north-facing one.

Position
Full sun or Partial shade
Water
moderate demand
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Grows to
150–180 cm × 120–150 cm
Hardiness
H6
Harvest
July and August
Difficulty
Straightforward

Described view

Redcurrant fruit hanging in long strings on thornless stems, the berries translucent enough to show the seeds through the skin, with the pale-backed lobed foliage behind them

August

Harvest

Redcurrant’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

ActivityJFMAMJJASOND
PlantJanuary. February. March. November. December.
In flowerApril.
HarvestJuly. August.
PruneJanuary. February. June. July. November. December.
Take cuttingsOctober. November.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Pollination

Whether one plant on its own will set fruit, and what has to be true if it will not.

One plant on its own will crop.

Self-fertility
Self-fertile
Partner needed
No partner needed
Pollen moved by
Insects
Where the pollination figures come from
Self-fertilitySourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Partner neededSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Pollen moved byHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rootstocks

No rootstock to choose

Own roots from hardwood cuttings, though grown on a short clear leg rather than stooled.

Pruning and training

Every piece of fruit pruning advice follows from one fact: where the plant carries next year's crop.

Fruits on: Spurs on older wood

Fruit forms on short stubby spurs that persist on wood two years old and older. Pruning aims to build and renew those spurs, so the framework is kept and young growth is shortened.

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Fruit forms on short spurs at the base of last year's side shoots and on older wood — a permanent framework, exactly unlike a blackcurrant.

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Pruning redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Which wood carries the fruitThree fruiting habits compared. On a spur-bearer such as most apples and pears, fruit forms on short stubby spurs on wood two years old and older, so the older framework must be kept and long new shoots can be shortened. On a tip-bearer, fruit forms at the ends of shoots made last year, so shortening every shoot removes the entire crop. On a cane fruit such as a summer raspberry, fruit forms on canes grown the previous season, which die after cropping and are cut to the ground while this year's new canes are kept.Spur-bearerfruit on old spursshorten new growthTip-bearerfruit at the shoot tipsshortening loses the cropCane fruitcut fruited canes outkeep this year’s canes
Cutting the wrong wood does not damage the plant. It removes the crop, and the loss is not visible until the following summer.

Forms it can be grown as

  • Open bush
  • Cordon
  • Fan
  • Standard
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

The permanent framework is what makes cordons and fans possible; a blackcurrant cannot be trained this way.

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Training redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Cordons and fans need wires; a bush needs nothing.
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

  • Formative pruningNovember, December, January, February

    Build an open-centred framework on a short clear leg, which keeps the fruit off the ground and lets air through the bush.

    In the first years, select and shorten a permanent framework of branches on a short clear stem. Unlike a blackcurrant, the aim is a lasting structure rather than a continuous supply of new stems.

    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Pruning redcurrants

    Checked 2026-08-13

  • Annual maintenanceJune, July, November, December, January, February

    Build up and renew the fruiting spurs, and keep the centre of the bush open enough to pick from.

    In winter, shorten the side shoots made that year back to two or three buds and lightly tip the main branches. In summer, shorten side shoots to about five leaves on trained forms. The framework stays.

    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Pruning redcurrants

    Checked 2026-08-13

What you are committing to

Fruit is a multi-year decision. These are the numbers a nursery label rarely carries.

First worthwhile crop
2–3 years
Productive life
15–20 years
Propagated by
Hardwood cuttings
Fruit type
Bush fruit
Where these figures come from
First worthwhile cropHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Productive lifeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

A well-maintained framework goes on for a long time.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Propagated bySourced guidancehigh confidence

Cuttings are prepared with the lower buds rubbed off, to produce the clear leg the framework needs.

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Propagating currants

Checked 2026-08-13

Keeping it: Freezes well; high pectin makes it excellent for jelly.
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Very heavy cropping for the space, translucent and beautiful, and among the best fruits for jelly because of their high natural pectin.

Conditions it needs

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Direct sun
3 hours a day or more
Frost
Very hardy
Hardiness rating
H6 (RHS)
Soil
Loam, Clay, Silt
Soil pH
6–6.8
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Water needs
moderate
Drought
moderate tolerance
Waterlogging
moderate tolerance
Heat
moderate tolerance
Wind and exposure
good tolerance
Where these figures come from
LightSourced guidancehigh confidence

One of the few fruits that crops acceptably on a north-facing wall.

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Direct sunHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Redcurrants — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

SoilVerdictWhy
Heavy clayGrows well hereRedcurrant grows perfectly well on heavy clay without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
SandyGrows well hereRedcurrant grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Chalky and alkalineWorks, with one conditionRedcurrant will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 6 to 6.8, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5.The pH is the obstacle. Small shifts are achievable and slow; large ones are not. On chalky and alkaline the dependable answer is a container of the right compost rather than an attempt to change the ground.
LoamGrows well hereRedcurrant grows perfectly well on loam without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
SiltyGrows well hereRedcurrant grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Peaty and acidGrows well hereRedcurrant grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Shallow over rockWorks, with one conditionRedcurrant will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It roots to about 30 cm and this soil offers roughly 25 cm before rock or hardpan.Grow it in a deep container or a raised bed. The rooting depth is not something that can be added to the ground.
Made ground and urban soilGrows well hereRedcurrant grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height
150–180 cm
Mature spread
120–150 cm
Rooting depth
30–45 cm
Spacing
150 cm apartSourced guidanceDepends on conditions
Where these figures come from
Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

SpacingSourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence

Applies when: Cordons are planted 40 cm apart, which is what makes them so space-efficient.

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

How far apart to plant redcurrantThree redcurrant plants drawn in a row at their recorded spacing of 150 cm between plants. The spacing is drawn to scale against a one metre rule; the plants themselves are symbols rather than scale drawings, so the distance between them is the part to read.150 cmone metre
Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume
35 litres or more
Minimum depth
35 cm
Where the container figures come from
Minimum volumeSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Fruit in containers

Checked 2026-08-13

Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows well in a pot as a cordon against a wall, which is the most productive use of a small space for it. Top-dress with sulphate of potash each spring.

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

MethodSuitabilityWhat it needs
Open groundWell suited
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Traditional dug bedWell suited
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Raised bedWell suited
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Vertical growingWell suited
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Cordons at 40 cm spacing on a wall — including a north-facing one — are among the most space-efficient fruit in this catalogue.

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Training redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

Wires; Summer and winter spur pruning
ContainerWorkable
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

35 litres or more
HydroponicsMarginal
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

A permanent bush with a chilling requirement, as blackcurrant.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

GreenhouseMarginal
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Currants — chilling requirement

Checked 2026-08-13

PolytunnelMarginal
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Currants — chilling requirement

Checked 2026-08-13

WindowsillNot suitable
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

  • PruningPrune as a spur system on a permanent framework: shorten side shoots, keep the branches. Do NOT cut stems to the ground as you would a blackcurrant — that removes the framework the crop grows on.
  • ProtectionNet the bush in late winter as well as in summer. Bullfinches strip dormant fruit buds from currants, which costs the crop before it exists.
  • WateringLess thirsty than blackcurrants and generally content in open ground, but water while the fruit is swelling on light soils and in containers. Irregular watering at colouring makes the berries split on the strig.
  • FeedingRedcurrants fruit on old wood and want potassium rather than nitrogen. Apply sulphate of potash in late winter and mulch with compost. Too much nitrogen gives long soft growth, a heavier aphid population and less fruit.
  • PropagationHardwood cuttings in late autumn, taken exactly as for blackcurrants with one crucial difference: rub off all but the top three or four buds before inserting the cutting. Redcurrants are grown on a short clear leg rather than as a stool, and buds left below ground produce the thicket of suckers that makes an unmanageable bush.
Where this guidance comes from
PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Pruning redcurrants

Checked 2026-08-13

ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Birds and fruit

Checked 2026-08-13

WateringSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Redcurrants — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Redcurrants — feeding

Checked 2026-08-13

PropagationSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Redcurrants — propagation

Checked 2026-08-13

Where to make a pruning cutFour stems compared. The first is cut cleanly on a slope about five millimetres above an outward-facing bud, sloping away from it, and is labelled correct. The second is cut too far above the bud, leaving a long stub that dies back. The third is cut too close, into the bud itself, which loses the shoot. The fourth is cut sloping towards the bud so rain runs onto it rather than away, which rots it. In every case the bud points outwards, away from the centre of the plant.Correct5 mm, sloping awayToo highstub dies backToo closebud lostSloping inrain sits on the bud
The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.
Four ways to make more plantsFour propagation operations compared, each showing where the separation is made and what must be present on both sides of it. Division: a clump cut between crowns, with roots and at least one growing point on every piece. Stem cutting: a shoot cut just below a leaf node, because the node is where roots form, with the lower leaves removed. Runner: a plantlet already rooting where it touches the ground, severed from the parent only after its own roots have taken. Offset: a young shoot at the base of the parent, separated with its own roots attached. In each case the cut is marked and the part that must be retained is labelled.Divisioncut between crownsroots on every piececut below a nodeStem cuttingroots form at the nodestrip the lower leavesRunnerlet it root firstthen sever the linkOffseta shoot at the basetake its roots with it
The rule is the same in all four: the new piece needs both a growing point and roots of its own. A cutting is the exception that has to make its roots afterwards, which is why the node matters so much.

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

StructureWhat protection is worthWhat decides it
GreenhouseNo real benefit
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Winter chill and permanent occupancy. A cordon against a wall was a real Victorian practice for early fruit; in a modern small greenhouse it is a bush's worth of space for a crop that never fails outdoors.
PolytunnelNo real benefit
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Winter chill and permanent occupancy.

Growing it without soil

Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.

Not worth it

It can be made to grow, but a soilless system is the wrong tool — usually because of rooting volume, running cost, or a result no better than a pot of compost.

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

A permanent bush with a chilling requirement, as blackcurrant.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Cordon-trained bushes are compact enough to tempt somebody, and the chilling requirement is unaffected by the training.

Techniques that suit it

  • Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.
Horticultural consensusDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence

Applies when: Substrate only.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Root space
Large and permanent.
pH band
5.5–6.5
Where these figures come from
Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence

Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.

  • Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH

Checked 2026-08-13

No nutrient recipes here

GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.

Harvesting

  • When it is readyPick whole strigs when every berry has coloured and turned translucent.
  • How to pick itSnip or pull the strig; the berries burst if picked individually.
  • Keeping itA few days refrigerated; freezes well on the strig.
Where the harvest guidance comes from
When it is readyHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Keeping itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

What goes wrong

ProblemHow oftenNotes
Gooseberry sawflycommon
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Strips a bush from the centre outward, sometimes within a week.
Currant blister aphidcommon
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Red blistered spring leaves. Cosmetic: the fruit is unaffected and no spray is warranted.
Bird damagecommon
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Birds and fruit

Checked 2026-08-13

Both the ripe fruit in summer and the dormant buds in late winter.
Aphidscommon
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Powdery mildewoccasional
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Grown with, grown after, grown instead

Every relationship states its mechanism. A pairing nobody can explain is a pairing nobody has checked, and it does not go in.

  • Closely relatedWhitecurrant
    Whitecurrants are a colour variant of the same species, Ribes rubrum. Cultivation, pruning and problems are identical — the only difference is the fruit colour and a slightly sweeter flavour.
    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Ribes rubrum

    Checked 2026-08-13

  • Closely relatedGooseberry
    Both Ribes grown on a permanent framework with spur pruning, both suited to cordon training, and both attacked by the same sawfly. Their pruning and management transfer almost exactly.
    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Pruning gooseberries and redcurrants

    Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-13.