Flowering currant
Ribes sanguineum · Grossulariaceae
Drooping clusters of deep rose-pink flowers on the bare branches in early spring, just as the hummingbirds return to the Pacific coast.
- Size
- 7 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late March to late April
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around flowering currant
The planner designed this bed around flowering currant when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why flowering currant stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Flowering currant × 1, pink
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 19, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 14, blue
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 6 Lowbush blueberry × 5, white
- 7 Star of Persia × 5, purple
- 8 Allium 'Globemaster' × 4, purple
- 9 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does lowbush blueberry.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 7 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late March to late April.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 11 of the 11 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 50% of the visual weight and the right half 50%.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where flowering currant goes in a border
At 7 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A western native that is to the Northwest what forsythia is to the East, in a kinder colour. It is easy in sun or part shade and tolerates dry summers.
- Early spring colour
- Hummingbirds
- Pacific Northwest native gardens
What to plant with flowering currant
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Oregon grape: in flower together for four weeks, from early April; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Snowberry: carries the spot on into mid July; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Daffodil: in flower together for three weeks, from mid April; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about flowering currant
Does flowering currant need sun or shade?
Flowering currant grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does flowering currant grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 8. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does flowering currant flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late March to late April. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 6 | Late March to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Mid March to mid April |
| Zone 8 | Early March to early April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should flowering currant be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 7 ft (220 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many flowering currant plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is flowering currant poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat flowering currant?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after flowering currant?
Flowering currant is over by late April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin': from late May to early June, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Northern Lights azalea: from mid May to early June, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does flowering currant look like in winter?
Flowering currant drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is flowering currant good for bees and butterflies?
Flowering currant is visited by bees, moths, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of ceanothus silkmoth feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States.
More Ribes
- Alpine currant Ribes alpinum
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 7 ft (220 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late March to late April; dense clusters; pink, red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Grossulariaceae
- Comes from
- British Columbia to Northern California
- Attracts
- Bees, moths, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Ceanothus silkmoth
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.