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Ribes nigrum 'Ben Sarek' (B)

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© RHS 2002

Characteristics

Plant type

Fruit (edible) or Shrub

Habit

Bushy

Resilience

Hardiness

old H4 (hardy)

Colour

Flower

Pale Green in Spring

Foliage

Green in Autumn, Spring and Summer

Fruit

Black in Summer

Size

Ultimate height

1-1.5 metres

Ultimate spread

1-1.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2-5 years


Preferred common name

blackcurrant 'Ben Sarek'

Family

Grossulariaceae


Ribes can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes spiny, with simple, usually palmately lobed leaves and small tubular or bell-shaped, solitary or racemose flowers borne in spring or summer, followed by juicy, sometimes edible berries

'Ben Sarek' is a compact blackcurrant for culinary or dessert use, to 1.5m in height. Flowers insignificant, pale green; fruit black, mid season

How to grow

Sunlight

  • Full sun

Aspect

  • North-facing, East-facing, South-facing or West-facing
  • Sheltered

Cultivation

Grow as a stooled bush. Mulch with well rotted manure or compost. Add a general fertilizer and additional nitrogen if necessary

Soil

  • Moist but well-drained
  • Neutral
  • Loam, Clay or Sand

Propagation

Propagate by hardwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Cottage/Informal Garden


How to care

Pruning

Renewal pruning in the dormant season

Pests

Can get gall mites, gall midges and aphids and reversion

Diseases

Resistant to powdery mildews