

Why plant Audubon® Native American Currant?
Fruit for the birds—and for the humans, too! American Currant is an uncommon native fruiting plant that will please your avian visitors with its sweet-tart black berries in summer, and you may want to snack on them as well. Robins and other thrushes, catbirds, bluebirds, and Brown Thrashers are known to sample the juicy fruits. Humans may eat them fresh or cook them into pies or jelly. They’re rich in vitamins and antioxidants! Unlike many other Currants (and the closely related Gooseberries), American Currant is thornless, so you’ll have pain-free picking when the harvest starts.
American Currant, a.k.a. Wild Black Currant, a.k.a. Eastern Black Currant, is a plant of cool northern lands (it is hardy to 50 below zero!), often growing in and near wetlands. Its native range extends from Canada to Colorado, Indiana, and Delaware. American Currant is not as common as it once was, due to an unfortunate story. In the 1920s and ’30s, thousands of Currants and Gooseberries were destroyed because they were found to be an alternate host for White Pine blister rust, a devastating imported fungal disease that kills Pine Trees. American Currant is not as vulnerable to the disease as the more popular European Black Currant, but it is susceptible.
How to use Audubon® Native American Currant in the landscape?
American Currant provides additional wildlife value in the form of creamy yellow spring flowers that appeal to native bumblebees, carpenter bees, and sweat bees. Several species of comma butterflies also use American Currant foliage to feed their young.
Planting Zones
Hardiness Zone: 2-5
How To Plant Audubon® Native American Currant
In northern regions, where it is happiest, American Currant may be grown in full sun or part shade. In warmer regions, some shade will probably be necessary. A lover of bogs in the wild, it also prefers moist soil in the home landscape, though it is moderately drought tolerant once established. American Currant does not spread by suckers like some other Currants, but it may reseed. Check with your local extension service about the prevalence of White Pine blister rust in your area before planting. Currant plants are banned in some states.
How To Fertilize
Incorporate Elements Starter Plant food granular form into the soil when planting. If planting in spring or summer, start fertilizing late fall using Elements Starter Plant food granular form on an annual basis each late fall. Continue this for the first three years to get your plant well established.