Culture

Best grown in organically rich, fertile, medium moisture, well-drained clay or silt loams in full sun to part shade. Prefers full sun. Some part afternoon shade is appreciated in hot summer climates, but fewer flowers and fruits are usually produced in part shade conditions. Tolerates poor soils and drought. Apply a good compost mulch to the root zone. Prefers consistent and even moisture. Avoid overhead watering. Renewal prune in late winter to early spring each year as needed. Younger branches generally produce the most fruit. If fruit production is a concern, older, weakened and/or damaged branches should be removed to open up the bush and promote more abundant fruiting. Propagate by cuttings or seed. Plants may spread by root suckers to form clumps if suckers are not removed.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Similar to Ribes odoratum, commonly called clove currant, it's a thornless, loosely-branched, irregularly-shaped, deciduous shrub that typically grows to 6-8’ tall and as wide. It is native to slopes, rocky bluffs and streambanks from Minnesota and South Dakota south to Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In Missouri, it is primarily found on limestone bluffs along the Current and White Rivers. It has been widely planted in the eastern U.S. where it has escaped gardens and naturalized.

Ovate to rounded, medium green to bluish-green, 3-5 lobed leaves turn dull yellow in fall. Golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers appear in racemes in spring and emit a strong clove-like fragrance. Flowers give way to drooping clusters of large, oval-rounded, shiny black currants which ripen in late season (July in St. Louis). Fruit can be eaten raw from the shrub or made into juices, jams, jellies, tarts and pies.