White Pine Blister Rust
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another lovely invasive disease from abroad! its too bad as black currants are one of the easiest no spray fruit you can grow. no thorns.
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you tried mulching them heavily? PAF canes survived here below the snow but not enough of them was left to fruit. my seasons too short for the primocane fruit to ripen. can you get the primocane crop at least?
In case curious, this is a reason to be serious about not avoiding import/export bans, and be wary of buying things from overseas:
Infected Ribes spp. leaves have orange pinhead-size pustules or brown hair-like tendrils on their undersides in spring and summer and may lose their leaves.
Life History:
White pine blister rust is not native to the Pacific Northwest, but was introduced to British Columbia from Europe in 1910. It is native to Asia. It spread rapidly throughout the range of western white pine and sugar pine in Washington and Oregon by 1940. The pathogen causes a canker disease on five-needle pines. The life cycle is very complex, involving five different stages (with associated spore forms) and a required phase of development on an alternate host, and it takes 4 to 5 years to complete. C. ribicola cannot survive in wood after its host dies.
More helpful info on what to do with prevention of infections here: Gooseberry and Currant (Ribes spp.)-Blister Rust | Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks
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WPBR came here in the late 1800âs before we had any regulations on imports. the ban on Ribes was dropped nationally in the 1960âs but a handful of states kept the ban on the books. new york just started allowing them again as well as some other northern states. wish they dropped it in Maine.
I tried but I may try again with Pine needles as all mine seemed to rot when mulched as well as the snow line and the tops i took up and wrapped froze / dessicated. The blackberries only survived in the shadier part of my yard which i suspected water was the main culprit. However if PAF survived i will try and fertilize it this year and give it a stake and force it into as much light as possible to try and get a primocane crop. They put out vegatitive growth decently when pampered however.
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Steve, you really seem to want to grow currants in Maine. Have you tried contacting you representative to your stage legislature? You can show them all facts, that you know there is a disease out there, you also know most states lifted the ban. You might be the guy who gets Maine currants.
weve been trying for years. Maine has a reputation not liking change when it comes to plants they deem a threat to the forests. they think if theres even a chance of a WPBR outbreak, the ban is justified. they wonât even hear the evidence proposed. unfortunately there was a field of cultivated black currant " titania" that became infected in VT in 2016. the state investigated and the pines around the field were infected. titania is a supposedly immune cultivar. the fungus had mutated. logging companies own 2/3rds of the state and control the politicians and forest regulations. its big money that wonât allow this ban to be lifted. new york had lifted the ban before the 2016 incident in VT. had it happened before the ban probably wouldnât have been lifted.
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What a shame the mutation.
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Richard - I live in Denver as well and my Crandall currents are growing beautifully! In fact, I just IDâd some clove/golden currants growing on the Cherry Creek trail. I took some cuttings so we shall see if a) they take and b) if they taste good. If they take, let me know if you want any rooted cuttings to try them out 
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Nice, I usually just find Hops and Raspberries when iâm out but i would love a local wild cultivar (Although i suspect most of what I usually find near town is guerilla planted). Thank you and hope you are having a excellent spring its looking to be a great weekend.
I live in ohio. Two out of my three crandalls are in full bloom. They have nice aroma of the spice clove.
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Which of the fruiting currants have the best smell?
My son who lives in North of Denver, called yesterday that he found some flowering bushes in his backyard that come from nowhere. He did google search and it turns out to be golden currants. How does it taste, any one knows? Thanks.
These are two pictures he sent me yesterday.
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Crandall is all I have experience with but they smell amazing. Good taste if fully ripened too. Just my 2 cents.
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Those look exactly like my Crandall black currantsâŚ
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They are not the same at all. So different.
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How are they so different??
This is from Moose 71 back in 2018 (âfrom what Iâve read goldens, cloves, buffalo currants are all western currants closely related to each other.â)
Here are some pics of my CrandallsâŚ
Arenât Crandalls- âcloveâ currants? Or were you thinking of Consort instead of Crandall??
clove and golden currants are closely related but a different species. crandall is a cultivar of clove currant âRibes odoratumâ. native to the midwest. golden currant âRibes aureumâ is native from the west coast to the rockies. american currant âRibes americanumâ is native to the eastern US. i have all 3 here. the american currant was hardest to find for sale as many of its berries arenât the greatest and no one really grows them⌠mine came from oikios. its just putting out flowers now.
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Thank you Moose! Please explain that the Black Currant hybrids are a different animal. It is not a âwildâ flower - fruit. The black currant has an amazing history. From England, to France, to the Ukraine, Germany, Austria, and Russia and other countries (I do not mean to exclude anyone)! Black Currants are unto themselves.
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