redcurrant

When to prune redcurrants?

Botanical name
Ribes rubrum
Family
Grossulariaceae

Redcurrants are pruned from February to March. They are planted from October to March. They are harvested from July to August.

Redcurrants are woody perennials. The edible part is the fruit.

redcurrant
Photo: Thue

Redcurrants through the year

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Pruning
Planting
Harvest
15913172125293337414549
  • pruning
  • planting
  • harvest

In short

Pruning
from February to March
weeks 6 to 13
Planting
from October to March
week 44 to week 13 of the next year
Pruning cut
while dormant
Spacing between plants
1.2 m
First crop
after 2 to 3 years
Harvest
from July to August
weeks 27 to 35

Growing conditions

🪨
Soil
loamy
🧪
pH
6.5
☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
little water
❄️
Frost
overwinters outdoors
📏
Height
90 to 150 cm
🐝
Pollination
no pollinating variety needed

Pests and diseases

Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.

Aphids

pest
Signs
Colonies of small aphids sit on the shoot tips and the underside of the leaves. The leaf curls and puckers, and sticky honeydew is left on everything below. The viruses they carry are more dangerous than the feeding itself.
Prevention
Go easy on nitrogen, because soft sappy growth is what aphids are looking for. Encourage the predators (ladybirds, lacewings, parasitic wasps). Use a reflective mulch, which puts them off settling, and a strong jet of water to knock the colony off the tips.

Gooseberry sawfly

pest
Signs
Green larvae with black dots, caterpillars to look at, strip the bush to bare branches in a few days. They appear first in the middle of the bush, low down, and only then spread outwards, which is why a gardener often notices them when the foliage is almost gone. A bush stripped of leaves survives, but bears less the following year.
Prevention
From April to September keep checking the middle of the bush, above all the underside of the leaves low down on the inside. An open, airy shape makes both the checking and the picking easier. Leave the birds and the other natural enemies in the garden to their work.
What to do
Pick the larvae off by hand as soon as you find them. On a single bush this is the quickest measure and, found early, it is enough.

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Related plants

The plants below are in the same botanical family (Grossulariaceae).

Sources about the plant: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Iowa State University Extension, Penn State Extension, Royal Horticultural Society, Utah State University Extension, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 28 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: Clemson Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.