Before moving to Finland, I’d never met a currant bush of any sort before. The most common ones in gardens only grow in temperate climates, so they were never really an option in Southern California. Even in the rest of the US, they’re not as common as other berries — even though the federal law against them was lifted in the 1960s, several states still have their own laws regarding growing them. There was a whole thing about them being associated with a strain of rust that was affecting the logging industry, but that’s just a Google away so we will skip that part. All this meant that although I’d read about currants and gooseberries in books, I never saw a real one until moving here in 2010.
Ribes rubrum ‘Aili’ (vaaleanpunainen herukka) was the second currant bush I purchased for the garden, back in 2019. I had planted a whitecurrant the previous year and decided it needed company. There were also lots of blackcurrants and redcurrants left by the previous owners, but those were on the older side and would need replacing within the next several years. The main reason I wanted to write about ‘Aili’ first is simply because it’s the prettiest of all my currants. It’s not all superficial, though — the gorgeous pink berries are also sweeter than redcurrants and the plant has been much more reliable than the whitecurrant. This little shrub has given me the least trouble and most reward as a first-time grower of ribes, so I have developed a great fondness for it.
As you can see from the first picture, this plant was flowering from the first day I got it. The first year, it was unceremoniously plunked into a hole in the lawn, a few feet away from the whitecurrant and roughly where I expected my vegetable patch to eventually expand. It sat this way patiently for the next two years until said expansion actually happened, and I got around to giving it a little wooden collar, compost, and mulch. That seemed to be all it needed to put up several more branches and double its height. It got so big that I was able to take six cuttings this summer, which are now happily overwintering in the spinach bed until they are big enough to put out in the garden next spring.
‘Aili’ produces about as many berries as any redcurrant would, since that is what it was bred from. Since I’ve started giving it a decent top dressing of compost every spring, it’s been growing rapidly and producing more and more trusses each year. This year’s batch was only enough for fresh eating and smoothies, though I did consider mixing it with the white currants and making a small batch of pretty rose-tinged jam. I should have enough next year to do this purely with pinkcurrants, though!
Final count:
Ribes rubrum ‘Aili’ – 1 healthy shrub and (hopefully) 6 rooted cuttings next spring
Little Blue and White House 
How interesting that currants are shunned in much of America. Pretty plant and I’m glad that you are enjoying it.
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They’re making a comeback, but they’re definitely still considered a more exotic choice than, say, strawberries and raspberries. If the logging industry hadn’t gotten them banned, blackcurrant juice would probably be as common there as it is on this side of the Atlantic.
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They are a lovely colour. I was hoping to fill a freezer when mine start proucing fruit, perhaps I’d better reduce my expectations. I have a local source for well-rotted manure so I’ll use that once they’re planted properly.
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Oh gosh, that was my hope as well lol! Some years seem to be much better than others, and of course you never know what’s going to happen with the weather these days. Best we can do is feed and prune and hope for the best. Redcurrants (and pink and whitecurrants as well) fruit on older wood, so that’s something I’ve tried to be more careful about when cleaning and shaping the bush. So it does take some time to grow and might need some gentle guidance to achieve that goblet structure, but then they should be giving you plenty of trusses!
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Thanks for the tip. I hadn’t thought about pruning as they all arrived with the tops cut down to around 8-10 inches.
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An interesting post and a very pretty plant, Angela. I grow Ribes viburnifolium (aka Catalina currant) on my back slope, which does surprisingly well with very little water. It bears tiny red flowers in spring. I’ve actually never noticed the berries but that’s probably because I avoid my back slope in summer when the fire ants are most active 😉 I just planted a Ribes sanguineum glutinosum, although I’ve previously lost a related cultivar.
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OMG fire ants! Yes, there are definitely ribes species that do well in warmer climates, though I’ve never met any of them. I hope that your new plant thrives and you’ll be able to make some jam with the berries 😀
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I have never seen them this colour, having only the red and black in my garden. I will definitely look out for it as one day I hope to have a bed just for berries and it would be a pretty addition.
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If the cuttings I made do well this spring, I can send you one of them!
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Oh, thanks Angela! That would be lovely! The berries bed will be a couple of years in the making, but I can always find an interim spot for it! 🤗
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Ah yes, half of my cutting garden is actually being used for stray plant housing at the moment too 😀 Always happy to share! I’ll poke you in the spring with an update.
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