

Currants & gooseberries · Dave Wilson Nursery
Red Lake Currant
A tart-sweet red currant that hangs in long loose clusters, very productive and winter hardy, and rated by many as the best red currant. Arizona extension lists it for the state's mid elevations, and Arizona is a low-risk area for pine blister rust. It needs cool summers, so it is a mid elevation and high country plant, with afternoon shade at lower sites.
- Chill hours
- 800–1200 hours
- Harvest
- July at mid elevation; July to August in the high country
- Pollination
- Self-fruitful
- Mature size
- 4–5 ft tall and wide; hold at 4 ft by cutting out old canes
Which one
Every currants & gooseberrie side by side
Same fruit, different seasons and different jobs. Pick the row that fits your ground and your calendar.
| A tart-sweet red currant that hangs in long loose clusters, very productive and winter hardy, and rated by many as the best red currant. Arizona extension lists it for the state's mid elevations, and Arizona is a low-risk area for pine blister rust. It needs cool summers, so it is a mid elevation and high country plant, with afternoon shade at lower sites. | A gooseberry you can eat off the bush: large, sweet, deep purple berries that look like blueberries when fully ripe, on a bush that resists mildew and winter cold. Gooseberries are native to Arizona's mountains and want cool summers, so plant it at mid elevation or in the high country with afternoon shade, and wear gloves for the thorns. Not a low desert plant. | A medium red gooseberry with a slightly tangy skin and very sweet flesh, on an upright bush that resists mildew. Of the Ribes here it is the one rated for warmer winters, but summer heat is still the limit, so grow it at mid elevation or in the high country, out of the afternoon sun. Wear gloves, since the stems are thorny. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | July at mid elevation; July to August in the high country | July to August at mid elevation and in the high country | July to August at mid elevation and in the high country |
| Chill hours | 800–1200 hours | 800–1200 hours | 600–1000 hours |
| Pollination | Self-fruitful | Self-fruitful | Self-fruitful |
| Mature size | 4–5 ft tall and wide; hold at 4 ft by cutting out old canes | 3–4 ft tall and wide; easy to hold at 3 ft with winter pruning | 3–4 ft tall and wide, upright; easy to hold at 3 ft with pruning |
| From | $15 | $15 | $15 |
Where this tree sits
Currants & gooseberries sit in the understory & shrubs layer.
Understory & shrubs
Woody plants at head height and below — figs, pomegranates, currants, berries. They fill the gap between trunk and ground.
BlueberriesIn this year's order
GojiIn this year's order
Cane berriesIn this year's order
FigsIn this year's order
PomegranatesIn this year's order
Flowering shrubsIn this year's order
Desert hackberryCeltis pallida
Green hopseed bushDodonaea viscosa
Yellow bellsTecoma stans var. angustata
Texas sageLeucophyllum frutescens
Palmer’s Indian mallowAbutilon palmeri
Desert milkweedAsclepias subulata
BrittlebushEncelia farinosa
Globe mallowSphaeralcea ambigua
Peruvian apple cactusCereus repandus
BlackberriesRubus spp. (blackberry cultivars)