When to plant and prune Flowering Currant
Flowering Currant flowers from late March to late April and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Flowering Currant is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and 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 | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| South Coast and Channel | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| South East and Home Counties | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| East Anglia | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Wales and West Coast | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Northern England | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Northern Ireland | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early September to mid October | late March to late April | late April to late May |
Growing notes
Drooping tassels of pink or red flowers in spring, very hardy and easy, and it makes a good informal spring-flowering hedge. Most reach about 2m, with 'Brocklebankii' nearer 1.2m. The leaves smell strongly of blackcurrant when crushed, which not everyone likes. Best in sun or light shade - flowering falls off in deep shade.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 150 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 200 cm
- Eventual spread
- 180 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 40 litres or more
- Balcony rating
- 2 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
Ribes flowers on the previous season's growth, so pruning immediately after flowering is what encourages strong young flowering stems. A winter cut removes the whole spring display - it belongs in the same group as forsythia, philadelphus and weigela.
Pruning group
RHS pruning group 2: prune immediately after flowering, cutting flowered stems back to strong young growth and removing about a fifth of the older stems at the base
What usually goes wrong
- honey fungus
- fewer flowers in shade
- leaf drop in a dry summer
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for flowering currant.