North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam (MPCA)" <sam.brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Jeff, to my knowledge the only nursery that ever offered R. odoratum 
seedlings was Bear Creek, in northeastern Washington State.  Unfortunately, 
that nursery has been out of business for a number of years.

I don't know if anyone really knows whether the true vegetatively propagated 
Crandall selection still exists.  The Repository at Corvallis has a clonal 
selection, which was donated by either a nursery, breeder, or an enthusiast.  
Whether it is actually the true Crandall is something I don't think anyone 
knows.  The original selection was made before 1900 in Kansas.  I grew up in 
west-central Kansas, where buffalo currants grow wild and bear profusely.  I 
have grown Crandall here in Minnesota and although the plant I had here bore 
heavily, it ripened in late August instead of about July 4 as it ripens in 
Kansas.   The selection I grew here in St. Paul lacked the really rich and 
sweet flavor of the wild currants we picked in Kansas.  I don't think its 
flowers were as fragrant, either.  However, the traits my Crandall plant 
displayed in Minnesota may have been greatly affected by the climate and 
amount of heat available during ripening.

I wish someone would test a number of wild clove currant selections to see if 
any are superior to the Crandall currant that is available from nurseries 
today.  Clove currants are not difficult to establish from seed; my mother 
used to throw out the water she washed them in (which also contained a lot of 
seeds from burst berries) in a rough spot near our farmhouse, and eventually 
she had a patch of seedlings.  However, they never bore enough currants to 
meet her needs.  To get that amount the whole family went currant picking 
each summer along the creeks and roadsides as well as in our pastures.  

My dad's favorite pie was wild currant pie, which IS delicious served warm 
with vanilla ice cream.  Mom canned wild currants so he could have currant 
pie anytime she found the time to make it.  And mom made lots of wild currant 
jelly.  She even helped me make wine from wild currants one year.

We've sort of pussyfooted around the R. odoratum-R. aureum debate that 
botanists are engaged in.  Prof. Nils Hansen made a number of golden current 
selections at South Dakota State University a number of years ago, but I 
think all of those have been lost. -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey 
Boulier via nafex
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2014 6:05 PM
To: Mailing List at Ibiblio - Northamerican Allied Fruit Experimenters
Subject: [nafex] Non-Crandall Clove Currant?

Hi folks,
Is anyone aware of a nursery (or collector) selling non-Crandall selections 
of Ribes Odoratum/Clove currant? I have checked my usual suspects, and only 
"Crandall" and generic ones come up. Lee Reich mentions that Crandall is not 
a single clonal variety, with some seedlings having been sold under that 
name, but since I have no way of telling if the Crandall I already have is 
the same as that from other suppliers, I'd like something that is 
definitively different.
Thanks,Jeff
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