Scottish growing tool
Blackcurrants Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden
Every recommendation below traces back to our full Blackcurrants varieties comparison — this page is the fast route to one answer for your specific situation, no clicking through required.
If: No specific problem, just want a strong all-rounder or Gall mite or reversion virus has been a problem locally → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice or Very small garden or growing in a container → Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice or Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice
Ben ConnanAGM
The strongest all-rounder for most Scottish gardens: compact, holds the Award of Garden Merit, resistant to the two most common fungal problems, and an early cropper.
If: My site is frost-prone: a hollow, an east-facing slope, or an upland garden
Ben Tirran
Carries the strongest sourced late-flowering claim of any blackcurrant with real Scottish breeding provenance: it's the highest expression of the James Hutton Institute's late-flowering, frost-avoidance breeding line. It has no AGM and needs ordering from a specialist fruit nursery.
If: Gall mite or reversion virus has been a problem locally → Gall mite, the insect that spreads reversion virus
Ben Hope
Ben Hope's Ce gene gives it real resistance to gall mite itself, the insect that spreads reversion virus, so it targets the transmission route rather than just the symptom. It has no confirmed AGM.
If: Gall mite or reversion virus has been a problem locally → Reversion virus itself or Very small garden or growing in a container → Reversion-virus resistance
Ben Gairn
Ben Gairn takes the opposite angle to Ben Hope: bred for direct resistance to reversion virus rather than resistance to the mite that carries it. It's also one of the two most compact varieties on this list, suiting a small garden or container. It has no AGM.
If: Very small garden or growing in a container → Powdery mildew resistance
Ben Sarek
Compact and good for containers, with resistance to powdery mildew. It has no AGM despite wide availability, and no stated frost or flowering advantage.
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