Fruit

Growing blackcurrants

Ribes nigrum · Grossulariaceae
By Hannah Price · Updated 12 November 2026

Blackcurrants calendar

Blackcurrants sowing, planting and harvest calendar (UK)
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Plant	Plant in January	Plant in February	Plant in March								Plant in November	Plant in December
Harvest							Harvest in July	Harvest in August
Prune	Prune in January	Prune in February									Prune in November	Prune in December

Timings suit lowland southern and central Britain and most of Ireland. In northern England and Scotland, or in a cold spot, start two to three weeks later in spring and finish earlier in autumn.

Overview

Blackcurrants are tough, long-lived bushes that thrive in British conditions and ask little apart from food and an annual prune. The sharp, aromatic berries are packed with flavour for jams, cordials, crumbles and ice cream, and a single mature bush gives a generous harvest. Unlike red currants, they fruit best on young wood, which shapes how you prune them.

Varieties to try

The Scottish-bred 'Ben' series dominates garden centres for good reason. 'Ben Lomond' flowers late, so it often escapes spring frosts. 'Ben Sarek' is compact and ideal for small gardens or a large pot. 'Ben Connan' has big berries and good resistance to mildew. 'Big Ben' and 'Ebony' are sweeter-fruited choices you can eat straight from the bush.

Soil and site

Best soil: Rich, moisture-retentive soil; tolerates heavier clay better than most fruit.

Give blackcurrants sun if you can, although they manage light shade. They are greedy feeders and enjoy heavy, moisture-holding soil, so clay gardens suit them well. Avoid frost pockets because the early flowers are easily damaged. Dig in plenty of compost or manure across a wide area before planting.

Sowing and planting

Plant bare-root bushes in the dormant season. Dig a generous hole, set the plant noticeably deeper than its old soil mark, backfill and firm. Then cut every stem back to one or two buds above ground. It feels brutal, but it forces strong new shoots from the base and builds a productive bush that will crop for fifteen years or more.

Spacing: Set the bush about 5 cm deeper than its previous soil mark so new shoots come from below ground.

Care

Mulch thickly each spring with manure or compost and add a nitrogen-rich feed, as these bushes reward generous treatment. Water during dry spells, particularly as fruit swells. Net bushes before berries colour, or blackbirds will clear them. In winter, remove roughly a third of the stems, choosing the oldest, darkest wood and cutting it to the base.

Harvesting and storing

Modern varieties ripen evenly enough to pick whole strigs, the short trusses of berries, once they are all glossy black, usually in July. Snipping strigs is quicker than picking single berries and the fruit keeps better. Use within a few days, or freeze on trays; the strigs come off easily once frozen. A light prune of fruited stems can be done as you harvest.

Common problems

Currant blister aphids raise red or yellow blisters on leaves in early summer; damage looks dramatic but rarely affects cropping. Powdery mildew can coat shoot tips, so choose resistant varieties and keep bushes open. Late frost kills flowers on early varieties, and fleece on cold nights helps. Remove swollen, round buds in winter, as they harbour a mite.

Read more on the problems that most often hit blackcurrants:

Not sure what you're looking at? Try diagnosing it by symptom.

Month-by-month reminders

Jobs for blackcurrants come round in January, February, March, July, August, November and December. Each month page lists the rest of the garden's jobs for the same weeks.

Grow alongside

Sources

Names follow Kew's Plants of the World Online; timings and spacings reflect UK growing practice and were checked against the references below. Text is our own. See our editorial policy.