'Cascade' red currant
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'Cascade' is easy to grow and a consistent producer here in the Wilamette Valley. Provides large crops of delicious red fruit. It is very winter hardy.
Red currants produce bright red clusters of fruit which are are striking in the garden and they enhance any dish to which they are added. Red currant fruit is high in vitamin C and potassium and is excellent for jams, jellies and sauces, as well as fresh eating. These deciduous shrubs grow up to 5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide and respond well to pruning. They tolerate clay soils that are common here in the Northwest.
Currants are a wonderful small fruited shrub that quickly grows to about 4 feet tall and continues layering and spreading horizontally. They thrive in sun but also fruit well in partial shade. They handle soil conditions all the way from heavy clay to sandy loam. We like to plant them in between fruit trees in an orchard or forest garden, as they feed pollinators early in the season, and once the taller trees grow, they are easy to transplant to a new location.
White currants are the sweetest, red the tartest, and black have an excellent unique flavor. It's easy to tell black currants apart from the rest because the wonderful flavor of their fruit is also found in their leaves all season. Clove currant has beautiful yellow flowers and fruit with an aromatic and sweetly tart flavor.