I am looking at black currant varieties, looking for the best/better tasting. Most of the current currant info for commercial growers focuses on yields and suitability for machine harvest not what they taste like. Kind of like other fruit, they think most people will buy whatever, or a ‘name’ variety. I have/ I think I have Consort, Titania and may buy Minaj Smiriou. Tried rooting cuttings of several others that didn’t root or survive.
Is there anything loved for zone 7 (and getting warmer)? Anyone have an opinion about new options from McGinnis? I can get several in plugs.
I also want red currants but have struck out there as well. I may have to get larger plants for every type.
Here are the McGinnis descriptions, I think only the first three are available now, but i have to get 25 each, so 1 for now.
Blackcomb
Blackcomb (Ojebyn x Titania) is a high yielding variety that has high levels of resistance to foliar diseases (mildew, White Pine Blister Rust), vigorous growth habit, and tolerance to late spring frost. Blackcomb has produced yields in replicated trials in British Columbia that were more than 50% higher than Titania and Ben Alder with fruit size 20% larger than Titania. Flowering is late mid-season and this variety has demonstrated better tolerance to late spring frost than Titania. Well suited to machine harvest. Canada Plant Breeders Rights #5345
Nicola
Nicola (Orlovskaya serenada x Titania) is the latest McGinnis cultivar release. Nicola has high yields, great resistance to mildew, and good resistance to White Pine Blister Rust. Flavor is excellent. Well suited to machine harvest. Canada Plant Breeders Rights #6642; US Plant Patent #34,161
Stikine
Stikine (Zusha x Titania) is has an incredible flavor profile, high levels of resistance to White Pine Blister Rust and other foliar diseases, very high yields, and suitability to machine harvest. One potential drawback is its short hang time. Stikine is best processed into juice or offered to fresh market customers. The resulting flavor profile is much better suited to North American consumer preferences. In some areas of North American, Stikine has had issues with a fungal pathogen known as cane dieback (Botryosphaeria ribis).
Tahsis
Tahsis (Bieloruskaya sladkaya x Titania) scored the highest yields in replicated trials in coastal British Columbia. Flowers late mid-season, tolerant of late frost, has high levels of resistance to White Pine Blister Rust, resistant to mildew, and has very large fruit (larger than Ben Sarek). Growth habit is spreading and displays the fruit well, which makes it ideal for hand harvest or U-pick. NOT suitable for machine harvest.
Whistler
Whistler (Ben Tirran x Bieloruskaya sladkaya) has high yields, fair resistance to mildew, and good resistance to White Pine Blister Rust. Growth habit is slightly spreading with medium vigor. Flowering is late-mid season with good tolerance for late spring frost. Yields in replicated British Columbia trials were more than 50% higher than Titania and Ben Alder. Juice quality is excellent. Well suited to machine harvest. Small to medium fruit size observed on the West Coast, but produces some of the largest fruit in Central/Midwest regions.
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i have consort, tiben and selenchenskaya 2. tiben which has titania as one of its parents, is my favorite right now but selenchenskaya 2 is still a young plant so may improve.
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Always make sure read what the catalogs DON’T say about a fruit or vegetable they are selling. Like you mentioned they say a lot about growth, size of the tree/bush, disease they don’t get, etc but nothing about the taste or quality of fruit. Does it taste good, sweet, sour, etc, does it rot easily or is it a long keeper, etc. . You have a hard time trying to find some information. You mentioned commercial growers on your post. Some varieties are designed mostly for commercial growers and are of little use for us small home growers.
Best wishes finding what you need.
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When I lived in zone 7 a-b, Consort thrived as did The Ben series, I had Ben Serak and Ben Lomond. They made the best jam ever!
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Mine are still pretty young, but I got enough to harvest last season. Ben Sarek, Titana and Lentaj all stood out to me.
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Tiben and Ben Sarak foliage smelled amazing, but didn’t root well. Maube something that I am doing wrong, but apple and pear did fine, as did aronia. I think if I get plants I am better off.
@MikeC that’s why I ask here, I always search but usually find something is hidden.
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i stuck over 20 tiben cuttings in ground around my property 3 years ago. all but 1 took. when i realized how much work it was going to be to harvest that much fruit i culled 12 of them. left the ones around my fenced in dog run to cover the view of the crap in there. on the positive note they are the fastest growing greenest plants on my property as the dogs like to do their business near the fence line where they are planted. win-win. i guess cuttings like to root in my shitty, rocky clay. maybe its because it holds water so well. i also cover the cutting to the last bud with woodchips. also helps it from drying out. they only got the regular rainfall.
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Minaj Smiriou is the only variety that didn’t quickly die in my Z7 climate. I still have a couple that are maybe a dozen years old now. They are also about the best tasting.
These new ones look to be bred in cooler climates so while worth a trial I would not expect much in zone 7.
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Not sure if it fit’s your category, but Crandel is pretty good.
I have Consort, Minaj Smiriou, Kirovchanka, Belaruskaja. The latter two are spoken highly of by Lee Reich, so I picked them up. They’re good, but not exceptional, IME so far. Consort came from a neighbor. It makes good juice. I have a Ben (Sarek, Lomond? I forget) and a Titania too that haven’t grown much. The Ben ones are even stronger flavored than Consort.
Minaj Smiriou is a really good one, IMO. They’re super tasty out of hand. Very sweet, just the right amount of pungency for good fresh eating. Right up there with raspberries in my book! Productive too
Those McGinnis varieties look really promising! I hadn’t heard of them until now. I’d love to know more about them. Are they available currently?
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The last time I posted a detailed review was a few years ago:
I’m still growing black currants and picking them every year, around July 4th. Not because I like them fresh, but because they make excellent jam. Looking for the best tasting black currant is like asking which model tractor is best to drive on the highway…There might be one which is the least bad, but it still isn’t a good idea.
We must have very different tastes…Minaj was almost as inedible as all the others in my book. Far, far, far away from a good raspberry. Then again, I view spices as abominations. Only salt, sugar and occasionally cinnamon are good.
Now, there is a minor difference in the quality of jam based on the type, with the harsher ones like Consort being a tad better. But it is such a small difference that I would happily grow one which is just slightly less strong if it was easier to pick (larger, more evenly ripening fruit).
I like Ben Sarek on that count, but it has been very slow growing. To the point that it isn’t even producing enough wood for me to reproduce it with cuttings. Maybe I just have it in a bad spot. I added another Ben Sarek or two at a rental property last year, so maybe I’ll have more info soon.
I had the same experience rooting currants (black, red, and white) and gooseberries. I just stuck them in the ground in the fall and by spring I had more than I could handle.
Sometimes I think our climates are pretty close, but in this regard mine seems pretty different. I’ve had a few black currants go into decline over a 4-5 year period, but I think a lot of it can be traced back to neglect (planted in a too wet area and not keeping the weeds down, particularly bind weed). But most of them are still going strong after 5-13 years in my borderline 7a climate
It may be black in berry color, but I think Crandall is actually a yellow/clove currant. To me, it isn’t as bad fresh as a black currant and not as good in jam. Basically, iffy for both and thus not all that useful.
Tahsis, with large berries, spreading growth, resistance to mildew, and strong production sounds like a great option.
Their site also has this note, in addition to the description you have above:
Tahsis had yields right behind Whistler and large fruit in Montana State University field trials.
How are you able to get them? I saw a note to go to Whitman farms, but don’t see the varieties listed. I’d love to add Tahsis.
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I have Crandall, I wanted blackcurrant as well.
I like many blackcurrants fresh and in jam, so maybe we are also off tastewise. I don’t like much salt or sugar, and I love spices of all types, and lots of garlic, and strong cheeses… Minaj Smiriou is wonderful, will end up with a plant so I can try rooting my own or layering. I think my issue has been that dormancy is so different where I have been getting cuttings from. Bare root currants and gooseberries, great. Cuttings not so much. They all came out of dormancy too fast, and died before roots or much of them. Of course it did get hot, and I couldn’t take care of much last year. @scottfsmith and others have said it is too hot for much northern fruits, but I am hoping to have enough shade for some to make it.
I was looking at Canopy Farm Management to figure out about my chestnuts. They are taking over most of Red Fern Farm stuff from what I understand, and are shippers for their chestnut seedlings from Red Fern Farm genetics. They are now the sole USA way to get McGinnis blackcurrants. I don’t need a full flat of plugs of one variety, but am looking at splitting with friends. Bob and @hobilus here is the link Black Currant (2023) – Canopy Farm Management
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they root best in ground over winter. the buds stay dormant while the roots get established. i also bury the cuttings to the last bud with mulch. i get near 100% take this way.
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The one time I did it a bunch, I also got 100% take, except for the one I did upside down. Thinking about it later, I’m not sure why it didn’t root too…Maybe I pulled it out too quick. I took the cuttings and directly put them into the ground around Thanksgiving.
Thanks! I took a look and regrettably, the one I am most interested in, Tahsis, is sold out. Stikine sounds mildly interesting as well. While "incredible flavor profile sounds great, “short hang time” would worry me a bit.
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@hobilus
I’m thinking about getting an order of Stikine. Would either/both of you want to split an order (25) with me?
Good/bad news. Bad news is that I don’t think I’ll make a big order of Stikine (though if someone else did make one, I’d be open to buying a few). But the good news is that the reason I won’t need to is that Whitman farms has two of the McGinnis varieties, Blackcomb and Tahsis (the one I really wanted to get). As an added bonus, the plants should be bigger than the plugs that were available in wholesale (and not much different in price).
When I spoke with Lucile (as far as I know, that is the only way to place an order), she warned me that although Blackcomb and Tahsis are both large-fruited and productive, they get so heavily laden that they tend to fall over due to the weight. She suggested a bamboo pole and a string to keep them vertical.
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Thanks for the update, @BobVance. Let us know how it works out for you. I’m still open to splitting a flat with someone, though I’d happily buy a single bigger plant if the opportunity arose. I mean, I wouldn’t propagate it, but it might just happen to propagate itself, especially when I plant it sideways with the all but the top bud or two underground.
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Funny, I have similar experience in that minaj Smiriou is vigorous and healthy, but I think the flavor is terrible. The only one of many I’ve grown that I don’t like to eat fresh at all.
I suppose its possible that mine is mis-labeled.
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