North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>]

I have some Crandall Currants in eastern Mass, zone 6.  

I love them in the spring.  From a distance they look like forsythia (except 
they have some leaves when they bloom) and they smell wonderful.  If it is 
warm enough to leave the windows open I can smell them all through the house.

Mine became more productive after they were in the ground for a few years, 
which coincidentally is when I bought a few new ones from a different source. 
 The new ones were much more mature than the first set had been, and both 
fruited heavily.  So, it might be maturity, and it might be cross 
pollination, I couldn't say.  But my plants are completely indistinguishable, 
leafing out at exactly the same time, blossoming at exactly the same time, 
etc., so I think they may all be the same cultivar, despite coming from 
different sources.

(My red currants look like they are different cultivars.  So do my apples, 
and pretty much everything else I grow.)

Mine are very productive most years.  I don't do that much with the fruit, so 
I manage them mostly as an ornamental.  The fruit tastes a little strong, and 
is dry.  The best use I've found for it is to freeze a few cups and wait for 
apple season, and then make an apple/currant pie, which is quite tasty.

They are very easy to propagate.  They tip-root freely (except that I don't 
let them) and send up shoots several feet around the parent plant every year. 
 The canes get a few feet long.  The young canes are fairly erect, and they 
droop in later years.  Mine are at the top of a small slope, and I tie them 
up to keep them from covering the whole slope.  If you stake them you can 
probably grow them in a space ~3'x3'. but they'd prefer more space.

They do most of their growing in the spring, and by late summer they look 
sort of ratty and start losing leaves. Since they come back like gangbusters 
in the spring, I don't worry about it. It's possible that if I irrigated them 
they would look nice longer into the year.

Ginda

On Jun 3, 2011, at 2:10 PM, mIEKAL aND wrote:

> Sam, what time of year do you prune away the older canes?
> 
> I wonder if they will root.  I have a huge Crandall that I realized was huge
> because it was layering itself.  I dug up a large amount of the layered
> branches & came up with over 30 new plants from one plant.  I've been making
> a melomel from it for the last few years that is outstanding.
> 
> ~mIEKAL
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 10:11 AM, Brungardt, Sam (MPCA) <
> sam.brungardt@state.mn.us> wrote:
> 
>> Caren, here in east-central Minnesota, 'Crandall' buffalo currant is fully
>> hardy and very productive.  It ripens here in late July-early August.  The
>> most productive wood is one and two years old.  Older shoots tend to become
>> lax, eventually hitting the ground.  For best yields, I find that removing
>> canes older than 2 years old works best. -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.
>> (USDA Hardiness Zone 4b)
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:
>> nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Caren Kirk
>> Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 8:39 AM
>> To: North American Fruit Explorers
>> Subject: [NAFEX] Clove currant ribes aureum
>> 
>> Is anyone growing ribes aureum (clove currant, buffalo currant, golden
>> currant, missouri currant) as an edible ornamental? I've heard such
>> wonderful things about its fragrance, read some good reviews on it's
>> berries but also read that it yield's very little.
>> 
>> How big and bushy does it typically get? Any particular growing conditions?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Caren Kirk
>> St. Jerome, QC