i have a wild gooseberry i found growing under my pines. i dug it and planted it in fun sun in the yard. its full of berries for the 1st time. ill post how it tastes on here. i guess they are more common than most people realize which makes the 100yr.old Ribes ban useless. if W.P.B.R was so bad why are there still pines standing with all those wild Ribes out there? N.Y was smart and dropped their ban. wish the rest of new england would follow suit. black currant would become a spray free commercial crop here very quickly.
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Yeah, the currant at my parent’s house is right under some old white pines. So, it’s not like one bush is a bomb of WPBR death.
You may have seen this, but the University of Wisconsin did some field tests on black currants (and other unusual fruit) with an eye to commercial potential up north. They liked Titania and Ben Lomond.
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Hmmm. I had seen a page where they’d also done some field trials of other Ribes sp. I should make a point of reaching out to them to see if they have better sources than I do as regards WBPR resistance. I’d probably get further with the MDA by handing them a pile of scholarly resources from a neighboring state’s University system.
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Titania is supposed to be resistant to the White Pine Blister Rust…but I don’t care for it for fresh eating. Jelly or preserves…nice! (Mine had no blooms or fruit this year…maybe it doesn’t get enough sun where I’m growing it.) (On the other hand, blueberries have a good fruit set under the same shady conditions.)
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Not many. They had people go through the woods and destroy them as a “work project” during the depression, or something. (At least, that’s what my husband’s uncle told me when he introduced me to his red currant bushes that had escaped the purge.
Red currants are legal on a county-by-county basis in MA, and I grow them. Like everything else, the critters eat all the berries before they are ripe. But my sister has enough bushes that the birds didn’t eat them all, and I managed to harvest a lot this year.
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this a another post i could spend a week reading.
well, i learned something new again; i’ll HAVE TO circle back to this ‘laying a hedge’ thing you speak of (i’m trying to sound midevil english).
ideas
- don’t discount the sweet scarlet goumi (yup, the cousin of the invasive, Autumn/ Russian Olive ;). very sturdy multi-trunked shrub; nitrogen fixing; disease/pest free; birds nest in it; PROLIFIC fruiter; takes ur weather; fruit has vitamins & some fatty acids & more heart-healthy nutrient lycopene than the tomato; grows in crappy soil; excellent seed germination rate (we just started that). the fruit tastes like cherry, btw. has ‘thorns’ but the sort of thorns that cause me no hard. i prune without gloves.
- a mulberry would out live us. grows like a willow (sorta) but you can harvest awesome fruit (and an underappreciated fruit) . ONLY the Red & Texas Mulberries are native the States. White mulberries may actually harm our native Reds. find a Red with tasty fruit and propagate! I dedicated a webpage to my Red & Texas Mulberries.
- non-edible: i just identified a plant on our property. a japanese holly. wow, she’s got dense growth. and evergreen. zero water & zero pests/disease.
- non-edible: i can attest to Rose of Sharon being ok. i think. they self-seed horribly out here. i pull Rose of Sharon like i pull any native weed.
- our chinese hawthorn was afflicted by the ??juniper gall?? disease before I could save her (or, understood what was happening back then). you ??may?? need to spray fungicides on hawthorn.
thank you for the inspiration. ‘laying a hedge’ is now on my To Do list 
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GInda Twisted tree Nursery explains about the native bushes being torn up
(it states we have over 70 species native to the USA)
http://www.twisted-tree.net/white-pine-blister-rust-and-ribes
(also states I quote )
However new research has proved that Ribes are not the only alternate host**. Indian paint brush and Snap dragon**s have both been shown to spread WPBR to pines
Indian Paintbrush IS Native to the US
Snap dragon is Native but also other species are native to Europe Africa
so I am not sure what is a carrier the native or the European/African one
or all three the USA Snap dragons , and introduced ones.
Maybe most of what I say is a better topic under another thread
I thought I’d add since it was brought up…
Above Poster USC33 thanks for bringing up the Texas Red Mulberry
Just reading about that recently , By the way nice list of edible plants
As far as Rose of Sharon Since she is in Michigan I didn’t think they self seed at that location,
until I read the below Link, but In Northern IL. I have not seen them Self seed
USC33 your In maryland , but in the Midwest we do have Native Hibiscus Plants in the mallow family
(I did not know the name off the top of my head (it’s been a while, and most are small I remember),
but here is a random link
If I can get online more I can add some more for IL at least (and small)
Hibiscus moscheutos swamp Mallow rose mallow (5 to 8 feet tall, 8 in great conditions 3 feet wide)
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=1671
H. laevis Smooth rose mallow
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=1670
(Okay Actually read the species native to Michigan on the site ,
and will post those we have some in Il not in MI though)
Glade Mallow has a little bit of size to it
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=2880
Smaller plant (not for what your asking )
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=1679
Kind of almost native but west of you like in my area I suppose poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata)
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=1669
And tilla Bass would trees (large tree used for Bass Instruments )
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=1681
Selection came from here
https://michiganflora.net/family.aspx?id=Malvaceae
Also you may recognize this weed I didn’t know the name before
Now going to have to eat it from now on. (maybe try to make cordage
Abutilon theophrasti Velvet leaf
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Abutilon+theophrasti
Remember though, and I was just thinking of this just because a plant does not give fruit, or food
it can be beneficial like for gathering Native seeds to sell/trade or bringing in beneficial Insects or guests.
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@Francis_Eric that wood bench is so gorgeous. I love the deep tones and swirling wood grain. So amazing.
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Dang it I was about to plant Indian paintbrush!