RIBES. Currant. Northern Hemisphere, temperate areas. Ours are ornamental shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous, native to the Pacific Coast. They may take many forms and sizes, though most are of manageable proportions for a home garden. Some have wicked spines at the nodes and even dense prickles in between, while others are smooth-stemmed, often with attractive, glistening bark. The leaves are commonly three- to five-lobed, sometimes resembling those of the maples. Along them, usually in late winter or spring, are carried small, colorful blossoms, either singly or in clusters. Both the frequently pendulous habit of the flowers and the combination of a basal tube, flaring sepals and more closely held petals give them much the appearance of little fuchsias. According to their scale and form, the ribes have several different landscape uses, from ground cover to specimen shrub. The following thrive in sun or shade, though part shade is preferable in the hotter interior. Most need reasonably well drained soil and moderate watering. Their hardiness varies.
aureum var. gracillimum. Golden currant. This is one of the most massive of the currants, growing up to 10' high and often spreading widely. It is profusely branched, creating a billowy profile, with slender twigs and attractive pale bark. The leaves are 1-2" long, bright green and smooth-textured. Appearing with them in early spring are masses of small golden yellow blossoms, borne in short clusters. This is an exceptionally floriferous form, selected by Everett Butts. Probably 0-5oF.
indecorum. The name of this southern California native means, literally, “not showy”; fortunately the current unnamed clone, received from the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation, fails miserably in living up to its reputation. It is a bushy plant, similar in appearance to some forms of R. sanguineum but growing only about 5’ high. It has attractive reddish brown bark and resinous bright green 2" leaves. In middle to late winter it bears dense, spreading clusters of white flowers, much like those of R. sanguineum or R. malvaceum. Its hardiness is not well tested; assume 20oF., though this may prove to be far too conservative.
malvaceum var. malvaceum ‘Wunderlich’. Chaparral currant. One of my own selections from the wild, this is an erect shrub of 6-8’, with stout branches and fuzzy light-green, lobed leaves. Dense, arching 3" clusters of little pink and white blossoms line the branches in late winter and early spring. Semi-evergreen to deciduous. It is quite sun and drought tolerant. Probably 5-10oF.
malvaceum var. viridifolium ‘Ortega Beauty’. This is a southern version of the chaparral currant, distinguished, as the varietal name suggests, by deep green rather than grey-green leaves. This was one of the plants I encountered in the Ortega Mountains, and it has proven to be a good one. It was over 6’ high and wide in the wild, and I would expect it to grow even larger in cultivation. It has attractive reddish brown, peeling bark and large, resinous dark green leaves. In late winter it makes a striking display of large flowers, as red as those of the best forms of R. sanguineum. Probably 15oF. or less.
nevadense. Mountain pink currant. This is another native rather closely related to R. sanguineum but easily distinguished in several ways. The plants are generally smaller (3-6’), the leaves larger (about 3" across in this case) and quite bright green. The flowers are borne in similar drooping clusters but they are held more nearly closed, forming narrow bells. Flower color is usually quite pale, but in this case a nice, soft pink. It should never be allowed to dry out. Hardy to below 0oF.
sanguineum. Red flowering currant. A deciduous shrub of highly variable size and shape. The branches are held nearly erect and loosely clad with 1-3" lobed, rather maple-like leaves. Arching or drooping clusters of small pink to red blossoms are displayed along the stems in late winter and early spring, usually just before the leaves emerge. By fall, strands of dark blue berries decorate the plant. Hardy to 0oF., except as shown.‘Album’ grows about 6' tall, the branches arching attractively. The leaves are light green during the growing season, turning beautiful mixtures of yellow, orange and red in fall and early winter. Pure white blossoms are displayed on 3-6" slightly drooping stems. ‘White Icicle’ is a similar, newer selection from the University of British Columbia.
‘Barrie Coate’ is a bushy selection from northern California, now alleged to belong to the type species, rather than the variety glutinosum, below. It boasts deep pink blossoms in short, outfacing or only slightly nodding clusters.
‘King Edward VII’. A stout-trunked selection growing about 6' tall. The foliage is quite dark green. The flower stems are arching and bear blossoms painted carmine.
var. glutinosum ‘Spring Showers’. My own selection of the pink flowering currant, native to coastal northern California. It is a bushy, roughly vase shaped shrub, about 6' tall in the parent plant. It has fuzzy, bright green leaves and light pink flowers, displayed in pendant clusters up to 8" long. Probably 0-5oF.
speciosum. Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. A wickedly spiny shrub with arching stems usually 4-6' tall. The ½" to 1½" leaves are roundish and lobed, dark green and shiny on the upper surface. They disappear in summer unless the plant is well-watered, returning in late fall and winter. In late winter and early spring small clusters of pendant tubular, crimson or scarlet to pink blossoms are displayed all along the past year's stems. ‘Rana Creek’ is a particularly nice selection by Suzanne Schettler, bearing great quantities of bright red blossoms. An ideal candidate for dry shade. Probably hardy to 10oF or less.
viburnifolium, Catalina perfume, is a spreading evergreen shrub often employed as a tall ground cover for dry shade. It has reddish stems lined with dark green, rounded, spicily fragrant leaves. The flowers and berries are nearly inconspicuous. About 15oF.