When to harvest Redcurrant in the UK
Redcurrant is planted rather than sown from seed, so the dates below are harvest dates.
Harvest dates by region
Redcurrant shows the same dates across the whole UK, so every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Harvest |
|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early July to late August |
| South Coast and Channel | early July to late August |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early July to late August |
| South East and Home Counties | early July to late August |
| East Anglia | early July to late August |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early July to late August |
| Wales and West Coast | early July to late August |
| Northern England | early July to late August |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early July to late August |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early July to late August |
| Northern Ireland | early July to late August |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early July to late August |
Growing notes
Best planted between November and March; an established bush gives about 4.5kg of fruit from July onwards. Happy trained as a cordon or fan against a north-facing wall, though the fruit ripens later and is less sweet.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 135 cm between plants
- Row spacing
- 150 cm
- Plants per m²
- 0.5
- Yield per plant
- 4.5 kg
- Eventual height
- 150 cm
- Eventual spread
- 150 cm
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 60 litres or more
- Minimum soil depth
- 45 cm
- Balcony rating
- 3 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
Redcurrants fruit at the base of last year's shoots and on spurs on older wood, so prune in late winter or early spring to keep an open-centred goblet of up to ten permanent branches. Never cut old stems to the ground as you would a blackcurrant; cordons and fans also need a second, summer prune to build the spurs.
Pruning group
redcurrant/whitecurrant (permanent spur framework)
Bare-root season
Bare-root stock is lifted and sold while dormant, from early November to late March. Container-grown plants can go in at other times of year, but bare-root is cheaper and establishes well.
How long until it crops
Expect the first worthwhile pick about 2 years after planting, and a productive life of roughly 15 years.
What usually goes wrong
- currant and gooseberry leaf spot
- brown scale
- capsid bugs
- birds
- bullfinches stripping buds
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for redcurrant.