B&Q red currant bush

[bikermike]

My wife has presented me with one, it is about 2'6" tall in and in a 6" pot.
It's had a drink and is sitting in the shade - how long will it be happy in that pot?

Is this a good season for planting it out? Will it squabble with a pear tree? I will be leaving 4' between them

[nickdub]

Best to get it in the ground asap.

It will cope with a certain amount of shade, but will not crop well in ground that dries out too much in the Spring. If you want any ripe fruit, you will probably have to net it from the blackbirds.

Don't forget to water it if you get long spells with no rain this year.

[bikermike]

thanks Nick.

We're on clay, no risk of that drying out in spring.
I shall add it to the list for the weekend...
Do they like full sun?

[nickdub]

I'd say about 75% sun would be ideal. They're very easy to grow from cuttings so I tend to bung them in places which are less than ideal, but where I have a space, knowing I will get some sort of crop from them. Not my favourite soft fruit, but reliable and not needing much attention once they are established apart from netting the fruit of course.

[Snadger]

They can be grown as half standards if confined to a single leg. Easier to pick and easier to net in my opinion.

[ameno]

They will grow very large given half a chance, though. My whitecurrant (which is the same species as red, just an albino version) is about 15 years old now and is about 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Gives a good crop, though. I've had 5kg of it in a good year.

[Dorothyrouse]

My redcurrant is in full sun, and does so well, over 14 lbs of fruit last year, still have some in freezer! Makes wonderful gin!

[peanut]

My redcurrant is in full sun, and does so well, over 14 lbs of fruit last year, still have some in freezer! Makes wonderful gin!

Oooh Redcurrant gin! There's a thought