911±¬ÁÏ

911±¬ÁÏ Growing Guides

How to grow whitecurrants

Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Whitecurrants.

  1. Getting Started
  2. Choosing
  3. Planting
  4. Plant Care
  5. Pruning and Training
  6. Harvesting
  7. Problems
1

Getting Started

Getting Started
Choosing
Section 1 of 7

The abundant, pearl-like fruits of whitecurrants are both decorative and delicious
Whitecurrants are easy to grow and produce plentiful crops of pale berries that ripen from mid-summer onwards. These have a refreshing, tart flavour – great for jellies and jams, or in desserts mixed with other soft fruit. Whitecurrants are a form of redcurrant (Ribes rubrum), similar in flavour and equally decorative. They like identical growing conditions to both redcurrants and gooseberries – sun or light shade, in the ground or in containers. The berries will be sweeter if grown in full sun, but their ability to crop in light shade means you can make productive use of a north-facing site.

Whitecurrants can be trained as single or multi-stemmed cordons against a wall or fence, which is useful if space is tight. Or grow them as free-standing bushes, 1–1.5m (3¼–5ft) tall and wide, for a heavier crop. They can also be grown as standards – with a bushy head on a tall stem – which allows room for smaller plants around the base.  

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2

Choosing

Depending on the variety, whitecurrants ripen from early July to late August
There are several whitecurrant varieties to choose from, including two – ‘B±ô²¹²Ô°ì²¹â€™ and ‘White Grape’ – with an 911±¬ÁÏ Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in 911±¬ÁÏ trials and are recommended by 911±¬ÁÏ experts. Pinkcurrants are also occasionally available. To create a really colourful fruit display, why not grow both alongside redcurrants too, as all three are grown in the same way, which makes looking after them very straightforward. If you visit any of the 911±¬ÁÏ gardens, you’ll find a wide range of fruit, including currants, grown in various ways. So you can easily compare different varieties and pick up useful growing tips.

What and where to buy

Whitecurrants plants in pots are available all year round from many gardening retailers. Bare-root plants (without a pot or soil around the roots) are also available, but only during the dormant season (late autumn to early spring) and mainly from larger online retailers. They are usually cheaper than potted plants, but are less widely available and must be planted straight away. Always buy certified virus-free plants from reputable suppliers.

When buying whitecurrants to grow as a bushes, select two- to three-year-old plants with a well-balanced head of three to five main branches and a clear stem of 10–15cm (4–6in). For cordon training, buy one-year-old cuttings or partly trained plants from specialist fruit suppliers. (It’s also possible to convert a young one- or two-year-old bush-trained plant.) Standards – shaped like a lollipop, with a bushy head on a tall stem – are generally only available from specialist suppliers.

Recommended Varieties

3

Planting

Whitecurrants grow well in large containers, trained as upright cordons
Whitecurrants are very versatile and can be planted in a wide range of sites, in the ground or in large containers. They crop best in full sun, but will also crop well in light shade. They are a useful fruit to grow against a north-facing wall, although the berries will ripen later than in sun and be less sweet. Choose a sheltered site, out of strong winds, and avoid locations prone to late frosts, which can damage the flowers and reduce the crop. Also consider planting inside a fruit cage to protect the fruit from birds. See our guide to positioning fruit bushes.

Trained forms, such as cordons and fans, need support, so are best planted against a fence or wall fitted with horizontal wires spaced at 40–60cm (16–24in) intervals, plus a tall vertical cane to support the main stem. These should be put in place before or at the time of planting.

Plant bare-root whitecurrants between November and March, but avoid periods when the ground is frozen or very wet. Container-grown whitecurrants can be planted all year round, but will establish better if planted in autumn to early spring. 

Planting in the ground

Whitecurrants like moist, well-drained soil, but will grow in a range of soil conditions. Before planting, clear the ground of weeds and dig in a generous amount of well-rotted manure or garden compost. Then add a high potassium fertiliser such as Vitax Q4 or blood, fish and bonemeal at the rate of 85g (3oz) per square metre/yard. Space bushes 1.5–1.8m (5–6ft) apart and cordons 38–45cm (15–18in) apart. For full planting instructions, see our guides below.

Planting in containers

Choose a container that is 45–50cm (18–20in) in diameter, and use a peat-free soil-based compost or peat-free multi-purpose compost with added grit (one-third by volume) to improve drainage. For more planting tips, see our guides below.

4

Plant Care

Established whitecurrants generally need little maintenance, apart from pruning and feeding. When growing in containers, plants need some additional attention, including regular watering and repotting.

Watering

Water newly planted whitecurrants regularly during their first spring and summer. Established plants won’t usually need watering except in long dry spells. Mulching annually (see below) will help to hold moisture in the soil.

Whitecurrants in containers should be watered on a regular basis throughout the growing season – even daily in hot weather. In winter, make sure the roots don’t rot in wateriogged compost by standing the containers on pot feet or bricks to allow heavy rain to drain out through the holes in the base.

Mulching

Apply a mulch of garden compost or well-rotted manure after feeding in spring (see below). Spread a layer about 5cm (2in) thick over the root zone, but leave a gap around the base of the stem. Mulching helps to hold moisture in the soil and suppress weed growth. 

Related 911±¬ÁÏ Guides
Guide to mulchingMulching fruit

Feeding

Feed whitecurrants in early spring with a high potassium fertiliser, such as Vitax Q4 or blood, fish and bonemeal – scatter one and a half handfuls per square metre/yard around the base.  

With whitecurrants in containers, feed every fortnight from late winter to early spring with a general liquid fertiliser. Each spring, scrape off the top few centimetres of compost and replace with a mix of fresh peat-free potting compost and controlled-release fertiliser granules. Then in summer, while plants are flowering and fruiting, apply high potassium liquid feed.

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Related 911±¬ÁÏ Guides
Guide to feeding plants

Protecting flowers and fruit

Protecting flowers from frost 

If frost is forecast while whitecurrants are in flower, cover the plants overnight with fleece or hessian, raised up on canes, then remove in the morning to allow pollinators access to the flowers. 

Related 911±¬ÁÏ Guides
Fruit: protecting from frost

Protecting fruit from birds 

Once the currants start to ripen, put netting over your plants to protect the crop from birds. Make sure the netting is taut, so birds don’t get tangled in it. Alternatively, use a temporary or permanent fruit cage

Repotting

Repot containerised whitecurrants every three years in late winter. Either give them a bigger container or return them to the same pot after removing a third of the roots and as much of the old compost as you can. Use fresh peat-free soil-based compost, firm it in around the roots to remove any air pockets and water well. See our video guide to repotting.

Propagating

Insert whitecurrant cuttings around the edge of a pot or into the ground
You can make new whitecurrant plants for free by taking hardwood cuttings in winter  â€“ use prunings from young plants, but not from older plants as these may carry disease. See our guide below for full details.

Related 911±¬ÁÏ Guides
Cuttings: hardwood
5

Pruning and Training

When trained against a wall or fence, whitecurrants need pruning twice a year to keep them compact and fruiting well
Whitecurrants should be pruned regularly to maintain a good shape and produce the best crop. They bear their fruit on old shoots and at the base of new ones, just like gooseberries, and should be pruned in the same way. Prune either once or twice a year, depending on the plant’s shape:

  • Bushes â€“ prune every winter to create and maintain an open-centred goblet shape with up to ten well-spaced branches

  • Cordons â€“ prune in winter and summer. These compact single-stemmed or multi-stemmed plants are useful if you have limited space  

For step-by-step instructions on how to prune all trained forms of whitecurrants, see our guide to pruning redcurrants (the methods apply to whitecurrants too).

Also watch our video guides, below, to see how to prune cordons and bushes – pruning methods are exactly the same for whitecurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries.

6

Harvesting

Tangy and refreshing, whitecurrants can be eaten raw or cooked to make jams and summer puddings
With modern whitecurrant varieties, such as the ‘B±ô²¹²Ô°ì²¹â€™ and ‘White Grape’, cut off whole bunches of fruit once they turn white. With older varieties, the currants at the top of the bunch ripen first, so pick them individually. Whitecurrants usually ripen between early July and late August, depending on the variety. Once established, a bush should produce about 4.5kg (10lb) of whitecurrants per year. 

Related 911±¬ÁÏ Guides
Guide to harvesting fruit
7

Problems

Harvesting
Guide Start
Section 7 of 7

Whitecurrants are generally healthy, trouble-free plants, although they can be affected by a few specific insects and diseases – see Common problems, below. Also, it’s worth protecting the crop from birds using netting or a fruit cage. And in spring, if freezing weather is forecast while whitecurrants are flowering, cover the plants over night with horticultural fleece or hessian, propped up on canes, to protect from frost damage, which can reduce the crop. 

911±¬ÁÏ

911±¬ÁÏ is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.