Fruit · Grossulariaceae
When to plant blackcurrants
Fruits best on one-year-old wood, so roughly a third of the bush is cut out at the base each winter. Neglect that and the crop halves.
First worthwhile crop
Year 2
After planting, not after sowing.
Hardy in USDA zones
3a to 8a
Winter cold sets the limit here, not the calendar.
Frost tolerance
Very hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Nothing about a standing crop is sown to a calendar. Once planted, blackcurrants stay in the ground for years, so the question is not when to sow but whether your winter is survivable and your planting window is open. Both answers come from your frost dates.
- Expect a first worthwhile crop in year 2 after planting.
- Needs roughly 800 chill hours below 7.2°C (45°F)45°F (7.2°C) over winter to set fruit, which rules out the warmest climates.
- Hardy in USDA zones 3a–8a.
Getting the timing right
Plant dormant, and plant deep - 5 cm lower than the nursery mark - which encourages new shoots from below ground. Blackcurrant is the one soft fruit that genuinely benefits from being buried.
Frost tolerance
Very hardy. The flowers open early and can be caught by frost in a cold spring, which shows up as a bare patch at the base of an otherwise full strig.
Classified as very-hardy.