American blackcurrant

Photo: erutuon — CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Survives zone 2 through 7

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

A true wild black currant of eastern and central North America — smooth, low-fat, high-sugar berries used historically for jam, jelly and pie.

Hardiness

Zone 2–7

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

June–Aug

Mature size

Bush 1–1.5 m; excellent in containers

Light

Partial to full sun (woodland/thicket)

Soil pH

6.0–7.0

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Alberta to Nova Scotia, south to Delaware, west through northern Illinois to Nebraska, south to New Mexico.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

1–2 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate to fast, reaching roughly 1.8 m within a few growing seasons.

Spacing

122 cm (48 in) apart — about 1.5 m² (16 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Palmately 3–5-lobed, coarsely toothed leaves 2.5–8 cm long with a rounded to heart-shaped base; yellow resin glands on the darker-green upper surface.

Root system

Shallow, fibrous and unaggressive; doesn't clump or sucker.

Fruit description

Smooth, round berries to about 10 mm, ripening green through reddish-purple to black; flavor is reported as variable — fair fresh, musky enough that some prefer it cooked.

Propagation

Genuinely hard to germinate from seed (lab trials report well under 100% success even with 90-120 days of cold stratification); hardwood cuttings are more reliable for cultivated stock.

Pollination

Self-fertile

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.