🌱✗ Tested and false“Prune redcurrants and whitecurrants the same hard way as blackcurrants, cutting the oldest stems to the base every winter”
Redcurrants and whitecurrants fruit at the base of the previous year's shoots and on spurs on older wood, so pruning keeps a permanent framework instead. The target shape is an open-centred, goblet-shaped bush with 8-10 main branches, maintained by reducing the previous season's growth and cutting side-shoots back to one or two buds — not by removing whole old stems at the base the way blackcurrants are renewed.
Our read Blackcurrants and redcurrants look similar enough on the shelf that the pruning habit is easy to carry straight over. They fruit on different wood, so the same hard renewal cut here would remove the wood the crop is actually counting on.
What to do: Keep a permanent framework of branches on a redcurrant or whitecurrant bush, pruning side-shoots back rather than cutting whole old stems out at the base each winter.
2 sources
- RHSThey bear their fruit at the base of the previous year's shoots and on spurs on older wood
- RHSan open-centred, goblet-shaped bush with eight to ten main branches
“Whitecurrants are a genuinely different crop from redcurrants and need their own separate growing routine”
Whitecurrants are a form of redcurrant, the same species (Ribes rubrum), grown identically: same site, same spacing, same pruning, same feeding. The only real difference is the fruit's colour and a shorter list of named varieties.
Our read Two different-coloured currants sold as separate plants look like they should need separate advice. They don't — one routine covers both.
What to do: Grow redcurrants and whitecurrants side by side using exactly the same planting, pruning and care routine, choosing between them on fruit colour and variety rather than any difference in how they're grown.
1 source
- RHSWhitecurrants are a form of redcurrant (Ribes rubrum), similar in flavour and equally decorative. Just like redcurrants, they grow well in sun or light shade
“Pick redcurrants and whitecurrants one berry at a time to avoid damaging the fruit”
These currants are harvested by cutting whole fruit trusses, known as strigs, rather than picking individual berries. Modern varieties ripen the whole truss at roughly the same time, which is exactly what makes cutting the strig practical rather than fiddly.
Our read Individual small berries look like they'd need individual picking, the way you'd pick a raspberry. Currants grow in clusters specifically suited to being cut as a unit.
What to do: Cut whole strigs free with scissors or secateurs rather than stripping individual currants by hand, and pick on a dry day since wet fruit spoils faster.
1 source
- RHSHarvest by cutting whole fruit trusses (known as strigs)
“Redcurrants and whitecurrants need full sun to crop well, the same as most soft fruit”
RHS names sun or light shade as suitable for both redcurrants and whitecurrants directly. Gardener's World goes further, stating plants should still crop well in semi-shade even though a sunny spot is preferable.
Our read A sunny wall or bed often gets claimed by the crops that genuinely need it, like sweet cherries or dessert apples. Currants are a real option for whatever is left over.
What to do: Use a partially shaded bed for redcurrants or whitecurrants with reasonable confidence, reserving full sun for crops that have a stronger stated need for it.
2 sources
- RHSThey tolerate sun or partial shade
- Gardener's WorldThey can cope with partial shade... should still crop well in semi-shade
