Currants are some of the most rewarding small fruits to grow in a home garden. The bushes do not take up the space of a fruit tree, yet a well-established plant can produce generous clusters of berries for fresh eating, jams, jellies, desserts, sauces, drinks, and preserves. What makes currants particularly interesting is the variety available: some produce glossy black berries with an intense, aromatic flavor, while others carry translucent white, pink, or bright red fruit on long strings.
When choosing currants, it helps to look beyond the color of the berries. Different cultivars vary in harvest season, fruit size, flavor, plant habit, cropping ability, and resistance to common problems. The Royal Horticultural Society’s currant growing guide recommends considering characteristics such as ripening time and disease resistance, while its current currant trials are comparing red, white, pink, and black currants for qualities including yield, fruit quality, ease of harvest, and pest and disease resistance.
For this list, the word “types” includes named cultivars as well as the major edible currant groups. Blackcurrants generally have the strongest flavor and are particularly useful for juices, syrups, preserves, and cooking. Redcurrants are brighter and more tart, while whitecurrants—technically a form of redcurrant—tend to have a milder, sweeter character. Pink currants fall between these colors and can be especially attractive when the fruit is allowed to hang on the bush.
What You Need To Know About Currants
Currants are small, juicy berries that grow on shrubs in the Ribes genus, a group native to temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. They come in a wide range of colors, including black, red, white, pink, and even golden hues, with each type offering unique flavors. They grow in clusters on stems, are cold-hardy, and are used fresh, frozen, or in jams, pies, and cordials.
Currant plants are erect or spreading shrubs. They generally are composed of short stems and long stems and may be hairy or glandular and lack spines. The leaves range in shape from roundish to nearly triangular and have palmate venation (their veins radiate from a common point near the leafstalk). The flowers generally are clustered and range in colour from greenish to white, yellow, pink, red, or purple. The fruits are true berries.
Currants have a long history, dating back to ancient times. They were mentioned in medieval European texts and became popular in Britain during the Victorian era for cordials and teas. Today, major producers include Poland, the UK, Russia, and parts of Scandinavia for fresh berries, while Greece and California dominate dried currant production.
Growing currants is relatively straightforward—they thrive in cool, moist climates with well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade. Bushes can reach 3-6 feet tall and are hardy in USDA zones 3-8. They’re self-pollinating, but cross-pollination boosts yields. Harvest season is typically midsummer, and the berries grow in clusters (called strigs) for easy picking. Pests like aphids or diseases like powdery mildew can be issues, but organic methods like companion planting with garlic help.
Types of Currants
1. Ben Connan Blackcurrant
‘Ben Connan’ is one of the most useful blackcurrants for gardeners who want a compact bush without sacrificing a good crop. It produces large black berries on medium-long strings and is valued for its heavy early-season crop. The berries have a rich flavor that works particularly well for cooking, preserves, and fresh use when fully ripe.
The plant itself has a compact habit, making it a practical choice for smaller gardens. The RHS lists it at roughly 1–1.5 meters in height and spread under its growing conditions. Its combination of compact growth, large fruit, and reliable cropping has made it a particularly popular modern blackcurrant.
2. Ben Hope Blackcurrant
‘Ben Hope’ is an upright blackcurrant that produces long strings of medium-sized black berries. It is a later-season cultivar, with fruit ripening toward the end of July into early August under UK conditions. The berries have a good balance of flavor and are suitable for both desserts and culinary uses.
One of its useful characteristics is its relatively tidy, upright habit. It reaches about 1.5 meters in height and is self-fertile, so a second cultivar is not required simply to obtain fruit. It is also a good example of why choosing cultivars with different ripening periods can extend the overall currant harvest.
3. Big Ben Blackcurrant
‘Big Ben’ is named appropriately for its unusually large blackcurrants. It produces shiny, sweet fruit on an upright bush and is considered an early-season cultivar. For gardeners who enjoy eating currants fresh rather than using them exclusively for cooking, the larger berries can be especially appealing.
The plant generally grows to around 1.5 meters tall and wide and prefers a sunny, sheltered position with moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Its relatively compact size also makes it worth considering where garden space is limited.
4. Ben Sarek Blackcurrant
‘Ben Sarek’ is a compact blackcurrant that fits particularly well into smaller gardens. It produces black fruit in the middle of the season and has a naturally compact growth habit. This makes it useful where a traditional sprawling fruit bush would be difficult to accommodate.
It can also be grown in a large container for a period, although currants generally perform better when planted in the ground. The RHS specifically recommends compact cultivars such as ‘Ben Sarek’ for container growing, making this one of the more versatile blackcurrants for patios and small yards.
5. Ben Lomond Blackcurrant
‘Ben Lomond’ is a well-known blackcurrant cultivar valued for its large fruit and good flavor. The berries develop in clusters and can be used in much the same way as other blackcurrants, including in pies, preserves, syrups, cordials, and desserts.
It belongs to the group of established blackcurrant cultivars that helped make modern garden varieties more productive and practical. When selecting this or any blackcurrant, pay attention to the local climate as well as the stated characteristics of the cultivar, since flowering time and late frosts can affect the eventual crop.
6. Ben Tirran Blackcurrant
‘Ben Tirran’ is a later-season blackcurrant that can be useful when the goal is to spread harvesting over a longer period. Its dark berries have the concentrated flavor associated with blackcurrants and can be harvested for cooking or preserving.
Later cultivars can be particularly valuable when several blackcurrant bushes are grown together. Rather than having every plant ripen simultaneously, combining early, mid-season, and late cultivars can give the gardener a longer picking window. The RHS similarly recommends selecting varieties with different harvesting times when growing several blackcurrant plants.
7. Ben Gairn Blackcurrant
‘Ben Gairn’ is another modern blackcurrant cultivar worth considering for the home fruit garden. It produces the intensely flavored dark berries associated with Ribes nigrum, which are particularly useful for cooking, juice, preserves, and desserts.
Like other modern blackcurrants, its value is not simply the appearance of the berries but the combination of cropping performance, plant health, and harvest characteristics. Modern breeding has produced cultivars that can offer improvements over older types, including better resistance to certain pests and diseases.
8. Ebony Blackcurrant
‘Ebony’ is a blackcurrant selected for its large fruit and strong garden performance. The berries are deep black when ripe and have the rich, aromatic flavor that distinguishes blackcurrants from the milder red and white types.
This cultivar is especially interesting for gardeners who want fruit with a substantial berry size. The RHS identifies ‘Ebony’ among modern blackcurrant cultivars that produce large fruit and can offer greater resistance to pests and diseases than some older selections.
9. Titania Blackcurrant
‘Titania’ is a European blackcurrant cultivar known for its vigorous growth and substantial dark fruit. It is valued by growers looking for a productive plant with berries suitable for both fresh use and processing.
Its strong growth means that good pruning and adequate space are important. Blackcurrants fruit best on younger wood, so removing some older stems during winter helps maintain a productive framework of newer shoots.
10. Consort Blackcurrant
‘Consort’ is a North American blackcurrant cultivar that is particularly interesting for gardeners looking for a hardy type. It produces dark berries with the characteristic intense flavor of blackcurrants.
As with other blackcurrants, the berries can be used in an impressive range of ways. Fresh fruit can be eaten when ripe, but the strongest culinary appeal often comes when the berries are transformed into jams, jellies, syrups, sauces, baked goods, or drinks.
11. Jonkheer van Tets Redcurrant
‘Jonkheer van Tets’ is one of the classic early redcurrants. It produces heavy crops of relatively large red berries on long strings, with fruit ripening early in the season. The berries have the characteristic refreshing tartness of redcurrants, although this cultivar can have a somewhat sweeter impression than many very acidic types.
The plant is upright and can reach roughly 1.5–2.5 meters under RHS conditions. It is self-pollinating, so a second redcurrant is not essential for fruit production. Its early harvest makes it particularly useful when combined with later cultivars.
12. Red Lake Redcurrant
‘Red Lake’ is a popular redcurrant cultivar producing large, juicy, dark-red berries. The long strings of fruit are attractive enough to make the bush ornamental while the berries are developing, and the harvest is useful for everything from desserts to jellies.
It is also an established RHS Award of Garden Merit cultivar, reflecting its performance in trials. The RHS describes ‘Red Lake’ as producing large, sweet, juicy dark-red currants that ripen from late July under its growing conditions.
13. Rovada Redcurrant
‘Rovada’ is particularly famous for its long strings of red berries. The fruit hangs in impressive clusters, making harvesting relatively straightforward and giving the plant considerable ornamental appeal when the berries are ripe.
It is a late-summer cultivar and a heavy cropper, making it an excellent choice for gardeners who want to extend the redcurrant season beyond the earliest varieties. ‘Rovada’ also holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit.
14. Stanza Redcurrant
‘Stanza’ is a mid-season redcurrant that produces large, deep-red berries with a strong flavor. Its fruit develops in long clusters, giving the bush a traditional redcurrant appearance when the crop is ready.
This cultivar is also an RHS Award of Garden Merit recipient. It is a good choice when you want a dependable mid-season harvest to bridge the gap between early cultivars such as ‘Jonkheer van Tets’ and later varieties such as ‘Rovada’.
15. Redstart Redcurrant
‘Redstart’ is a redcurrant cultivar associated with later-season harvesting. Its berries develop in clusters and offer the bright red appearance expected from a traditional redcurrant.
Later cultivars such as this can be particularly useful in a mixed planting because they help spread the harvest. Instead of processing a large quantity of berries during one short period, gardeners can combine early and late types for a more gradual supply.
16. Rosetta Redcurrant
‘Rosetta’ is a redcurrant with attractive red berries and a sweet-tart flavor. The fruit is produced in clusters and is useful for fresh eating, desserts, sauces, and preserving.
Its later harvest period makes it another option for extending the redcurrant season. When choosing among redcurrant cultivars, flavor is only part of the decision; harvest timing, plant size, crop quantity, and disease resistance can be equally important.
17. Detvan Redcurrant
‘Detvan’ is a productive redcurrant cultivar known for relatively large berries carried in substantial clusters. It originated in Slovakia and has been grown as a useful garden and fruit-production cultivar.
The fruit has the familiar refreshing acidity of redcurrants, making it particularly good for recipes where a sharp berry flavor is desirable. Its substantial clusters can also make harvesting easier than picking individual berries one by one.
18. Junifer Redcurrant
‘Junifer’ is an early redcurrant that can begin producing its crop ahead of many traditional varieties. It is particularly useful for gardeners who want to start harvesting redcurrants as early in the season as possible.
The berries are suitable for both fresh and culinary use. Combining an early cultivar such as ‘Junifer’ with a mid-season type and a late cultivar can create a much longer overall harvesting period.
19. Rolan Redcurrant
‘Rolan’ is a productive redcurrant with large berries and a relatively compact growth habit compared with some more vigorous types. Its fruit has the tart character associated with redcurrants and is useful in both sweet and savory preparations.
One advantage of compact or upright cultivars is that they can be easier to incorporate into smaller fruit gardens. Redcurrants can also be trained as cordons or standards, allowing gardeners to make better use of narrow spaces.
20. Rondom Redcurrant
‘Rondom’ is a vigorous redcurrant that produces dark-red berries in long clusters. It is associated with later harvesting and can therefore be useful when the aim is to keep redcurrants available later into the summer.
Its strong growth means that pruning and spacing deserve attention. Redcurrants can be maintained as open-centered bushes, but they can also be trained into more space-efficient forms such as cordons and standards.
21. White Grape Whitecurrant
‘White Grape’ is one of the classic whitecurrants, producing pale, translucent berries on long strings. The fruit is considerably lighter in appearance than ordinary redcurrants, giving the plant an almost jewel-like quality when the clusters are hanging in the summer sun.
Although whitecurrants are often treated as a separate type, they are actually a form of redcurrant. ‘White Grape’ can be grown as a bush, standard, cordon, or fan, making it particularly adaptable to different garden layouts.
22. Blanka Whitecurrant
‘Blanka’ is a late-season whitecurrant producing heavy crops of translucent ivory-colored fruit. The berries have a mild appearance and are attractive enough to use as a garnish as well as an ingredient in desserts, jams, and other recipes.
The cultivar remains relatively compact, reaching around 1–1.5 meters in height and spread under RHS conditions. It is also an RHS Award of Garden Merit cultivar, making it one of the stronger choices for gardeners looking for a dependable whitecurrant.
23. Versailles Whitecurrant
‘Versailles’ is a traditional whitecurrant valued for its pale berries and attractive fruit clusters. The almost translucent appearance of ripe whitecurrants makes them particularly attractive when used whole in desserts, cakes, fruit salads, and summer drinks.
Like other whitecurrants, ‘Versailles’ can be trained in several ways. A cordon or fan can be especially useful in a smaller garden because the plant can be trained against a fence or wall rather than allowed to occupy a large circular area.
24. Gloire des Sablons Currant
‘Gloire des Sablons’ is an attractive pinkish currant that sits visually between the classic red and white forms. Its berries can develop a soft blush that makes the clusters particularly appealing when displayed on the plant or used fresh in desserts.
Pink currants are useful for gardeners who want something a little different from the standard bright-red berry. Their lighter coloration can also create a softer appearance in the fruit garden, especially when planted alongside darker red and blackcurrant cultivars.
25. Pink Beauty Currant
‘Pink Beauty’ is a pink-fruited currant with attractive pale-colored berries. Pink currants can be especially enjoyable for fresh eating because their appearance tends to suggest a milder flavor than the intensely colored red forms.
The cultivar is also included in RHS fruit and vegetable recommendations, making it an interesting option for gardeners who want to diversify the color of their currant harvest.
26. White Transparent Currant
White Transparent is a pale-fruited currant type with berries that become almost translucent when ripe. The fruit can look particularly beautiful when sunlight passes through the clusters, giving them a glassy or pearl-like appearance.
Whitecurrants are generally treated as a milder alternative to redcurrants, although flavor varies with ripeness and cultivar. They can be eaten fresh or cooked and are especially attractive in desserts where their delicate color can be appreciated.
27. Red Cross Currant
Red Cross is a redcurrant cultivar producing bright, attractive berries suitable for fresh eating and cooking. Its fruit has the tartness expected from redcurrants while still being versatile enough for a wide range of recipes.
This type is useful for gardeners who want a productive redcurrant with a somewhat sweeter character. As with all redcurrants, giving the bush good light and maintaining an open structure can help encourage healthy growth and good fruit production.
28. Laxton’s Number One Redcurrant
‘Laxton’s Number One’ is an established redcurrant cultivar with a long history in fruit growing. It is valued for its productivity and clusters of red berries, making it useful for gardeners interested in traditional currant varieties.
Older cultivars can be worth growing alongside modern selections because they preserve some of the diversity found among historic fruit varieties. They can also offer different harvest periods, flavors, and plant characteristics from newer cultivars.
29. Cherry Red Currant
Cherry Red is a redcurrant type recognized for its attractive red fruit and useful mid-season crop. The berries are well suited to fresh eating when ripe but can also be turned into jelly, jam, sauces, and desserts.
The bright fruit makes this type especially decorative in the garden. Currant bushes can be productive while still fitting comfortably into a mixed edible landscape, where their berries provide a strong splash of color during the summer harvest.
30. Crandall Clove Currant
Crandall Clove Currant is different from the familiar European red, white, and blackcurrants. It belongs to the American group of flowering or clove currants and is grown partly for its aromatic foliage and flowers as well as its edible dark fruit.
Its distinctive clove-like fragrance makes it particularly interesting in a wildlife-friendly or informal garden. Unlike the cultivated blackcurrants and redcurrants commonly grown for heavy fruit production, Crandall is often appreciated as a multipurpose shrub that combines ornamental qualities with useful fruit.
Types of Currants Compared
The easiest way to understand the differences among currants is to divide them into their main fruit-color groups.
Blackcurrants are usually the most intensely flavored. They have a deep, aromatic taste and are excellent for juices, syrups, jams, jellies, cordials, pies, and other cooked preparations. Popular cultivars include ‘Ben Connan’, ‘Ben Hope’, ‘Big Ben’, ‘Ben Sarek’, ‘Ben Lomond’, and ‘Ebony’.
Redcurrants produce bright red berries with a refreshing tartness. They are particularly good for jellies, sauces, desserts, fruit salads, and fresh garnishes. ‘Jonkheer van Tets’, ‘Red Lake’, ‘Rovada’, and ‘Stanza’ are among the established cultivars recommended by the RHS.
Whitecurrants are essentially pale-fruited forms of redcurrant. Their translucent berries tend to have a milder character and are attractive enough to use decoratively in desserts. ‘Blanka’ and ‘White Grape’ are two notable cultivars.
Pink currants provide a middle ground between red and white currants. Their softly colored berries can be especially attractive for fresh eating and desserts, while their plants can be grown and trained in much the same way as other redcurrants.
How to Grow Currants
Currants are generally straightforward shrubs to grow when planted in suitable conditions. They prefer fertile soil that retains moisture without becoming permanently waterlogged. A sunny position is usually ideal, although some currants tolerate light shade. The RHS notes that blackcurrants generally prefer a sunny site but can tolerate a little shade, while red and white currants can also be grown in sun or light shade.
Before planting, improve poor soil with well-rotted organic matter. Give each bush enough room to develop without becoming crowded, and water young plants during dry periods. Mulching around the base can help conserve soil moisture and reduce competition from weeds.
Growing Currants in Small Gardens
One of the best things about currants is that you do not necessarily need a large garden to grow them. Redcurrants and whitecurrants can be trained as cordons, fans, or standards, allowing gardeners to use narrow spaces much more efficiently.
Blackcurrants also have compact cultivars. ‘Ben Sarek’, for example, reaches about 1.5 meters and is specifically noted by the RHS as a compact variety suitable for container growing for at least a few years.
When to Prune Currants
Pruning depends on the type of currant. Blackcurrants fruit mainly on younger wood, so winter pruning focuses on removing some of the oldest stems at ground level and encouraging vigorous new shoots from the base. This keeps the bush productive as it ages.
Redcurrants and whitecurrants have a different pruning pattern because their fruiting wood is retained for several years. They can be grown as bushes or trained into cordons, fans, and standards, with pruning used to maintain a productive framework and prevent overcrowding.
Do Currants Need More Than One Plant?
Many commonly grown currant cultivars are self-fertile, so you can harvest fruit from a single bush. A second cultivar is not necessarily required for pollination. However, growing several cultivars can still be worthwhile because different varieties ripen at different times and produce different fruit characteristics.
For example, combining an early redcurrant such as ‘Jonkheer van Tets’ with a mid-season cultivar such as ‘Stanza’ and a later cultivar such as ‘Rovada’ can spread the harvest across a longer period. The same principle works with blackcurrants.
Final Thoughts
With their compact growth, attractive fruit clusters, and relatively simple care requirements, currants deserve a place in many home gardens. Whether you prefer the powerful flavor of blackcurrants, the bright acidity of redcurrants, the delicate appearance of whitecurrants, or the softer color of pink currants, there is a type to suit almost every taste.
The best choice ultimately depends on what you want from the plant. If you have limited space, look for compact cultivars or consider cordons and standards. If you want a long harvest, combine early and late varieties. And if flavor is your priority, grow a few different cultivars and discover which ones perform best in your own garden. With 30 types to choose from, currants offer considerably more variety than their modest size might suggest.
References
- USDA Forest Service — Ribes L.: Currant, Gooseberry
Useful for the botanical background of the Ribes genus, including its diversity, distribution, growth habits, and distinction between currants and gooseberries. - USDA Agricultural Research Service — Horticulture of Ribes
An excellent broad reference for currant and gooseberry diversity, domestication, crop types, breeding history, and the development of cultivated black, red, white, and other currants. - University of Massachusetts Amherst — Currants and Gooseberries
Particularly useful for comparing cultivars such as ‘Cascade,’ ‘Detvan,’ ‘Red Lake,’ ‘Rovada,’ ‘Blanka,’ and other red, white, pink, and black currants, including fruit characteristics and hardiness. - University of Minnesota — Currant Varieties
Helpful for information on named cultivars including ‘Red Lake,’ ‘Cascade,’ ‘Ben Chaska,’ and ‘Ben Como,’ with details on fruit size, productivity, plant habit, and uses. - Montana State University — Currant Variety Trials
Useful for comparing currant cultivars that have been evaluated in field trials, including black, red, and white varieties such as ‘Titania,’ ‘Rosetta,’ ‘Tatran,’ ‘Wilder,’ and ‘White Imperial.’ - USDA Forest Service — Wax Currant (*Ribes cereum*)
A valuable source for wild currant species, particularly wax currant, including its scientific classification, recognized varieties, natural distribution, and habitat.