North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

I appreciate all the comments about these native black currants (I've 
also seen them listed as Ribes aureum, var. 'Crandall'), but there are 
two things I wasn't able to determine last year (before I joined the 
NAFEX list). I planted some of these anyway, but could I get some help 
on these questions, please?

1.   For best fruit production, do you prune them like other Ribes 
(remove three year and older stems)?

2.   I received nothing but conflicting information about these plants. 
Several nurseries told me that the 'Crandall' variety of /Ribes 
odoratum/ (clove currant, buffalo currant, golden currant, etc.) would 
set fruit with just one plant. But the Missouri Botanical Garden says 
Ribes odoratum is dioecious, requiring both a male and a female plant to 
set fruit. Apparently, this comes from the reference work, "A Manual of 
Woody Landscape Plants" by Michael A. Dirr.

Does anyone here know for sure?  Have you seen separate male and female 
plants?  Or perhaps it's dioecious, but the female plants will still set 
"some" fruit without a male?

At least one nursery told me that "cross-pollination" would increase 
fruit production, and that a Ribes nigrum type of black currant would 
work for that (and maybe other Ribes species?). If that's true, 
I suppose all these nurseries could be seeing fruit from Ribes odoratum 
because they have other Ribes planted nearby...

I ended up buying from two different nurseries, but I was totally 
confused by then. So I planted 6 of the 'Crandall' currants and one 
seedling clove currant, just in case. But, of course, I don't know if 
the seedling currant is male or female, or even if they really ARE 
dioecious. Anyone know for sure?

Thanks much,

Bill

--
It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their 
own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. 
Perception is everything. It's certainty. ... What is important? What 
you want to be true, or what is true? - Stephen Colbert