Just got word from Corvallis that they are sending me some Rondom cuttings! And they’ll be here tomorrow! I’m excited that they’re coming, but this is a little earlier than I was counting on. My wife isn’t big on the idea of storing them in the fridge, so I may have to get them started now. Will they be OK in my unheated zone 5b/6a mudroom, or would it be better to put them in warmer temps in my sunny dining room and keep them growing until spring?
Once I get them established, I plan to make cuttings available through trades to try and get this variety more widely available for those that need it.
they will probably sprout in your mudroom. id just put them in 1 gal. pots and grow them out. try not to fertilize them once they start togrow as currants are fast growers and you don’t want a bush in the house.
Thanks, that’s reassuring. Definitely don’t need a full sized bush in the house! I’m already close to using up my available space with other propagation projects that are ahead of schedule.
You can just leave them outside too. I have but now start them inside as I get more to take. I have left cuttings planted all winter and about half start growing in the spring.
Good to know. Since the only US source I’ve found is ARS-GRIN and I can’t keep pestering them, I’m feeling rather risk-averse. The mudroom sounds like a nice medium level of risk. I know I’m probably overthinking this. My understanding is that currants are probably one of the easiest things to root besides willow, but I’m uncertain about starting them mid-winter. I’ll probably re-assess my strategy when they get here and I can see how many 10-12" sticks I think I can get from them. Or I may try to negotiate for fridge space and get them going a month or so from now.
My wife really turned around come harvest time. It took awhile, but she now loves some of the harvests so much! Get her involved. My wife loves garlic and it’s easy to grow. She loved braiding the softnecks and giving them away. She loves strawberries so I grow ton’s of them. And now I can do this to our garage. She didn’t say one word!
That’s how a garage should look! She is mostly on board, just not overly enthusiastic about my plant propagation taking up our living space. Or my messes…
Just realized I never posted any description of Rondom. Here’s what U of Idaho Extension says in the bulletin I linked above:
“Berries hang well without overripening. Long, easy-to-pick clusters. Vigorous. Popular commercially in Europe. Immune to blister rust.” S-M fruit size, ripens mid-summer.
They don’t say anything about the flavor, but I figure that if it’s popular commercially, it’s at least average quality.
Most currants taste pretty much alike. I don’t have any disease issues here. I went with Rovada and Van Tets. The latter I plan to add this year because it ripens earlier than Rovada and extents my harvest. It is reported to be the very best tasting red currant.
Rovada has good strings as I posted earlier. I also grow Primus as it has the longest strings of any currant I have seen.
I didn’t find that to be true. Reds have a berry flavor with lot’s of tartness. Flavor is not rich, or have much depth. Still I like berry flavored anything. Whites have a citrus like taste and are very tart too! The sweetest by far are the pinks. Best taste I think.
I have had this problem with in ground plants. They do eventually take off. In containers they grew much better. I think you need to dig soil up amend and the loose soil will help. Where I have trouble is ground that tends to become very hard.
I like to make a syrup to use in water mostly. I love to consume them like this. I have made jam and both make good jam, but I still prefer the syrup. Raspberries added give the flavor more depth. I’m down to one gallon of frozen strawberries, some peaches and nectarines frozen, and about 1/2 gallon of black currant syrup.
The blacks are special, I like them the best. I’m thinking of adding other berries in the future. Autumn Olive Goumi etc. Although I do have a lot now. My honeyberries are getting old enough where I’m getting decent yields now. I’m going to try making some honeyberry raisins next year, see how I like them. Can be used for cooking that way too.
I also grow
Blue Banana
Honey Gin
Indigo Treat
Maxie
Solo
Unknown Thompson cultivar clone from Thompson gardens.
Borealis
Borial Beast
Borial Beauty
Borial Blizzard
definitely hard soil here too. i planted it on a 12in. mound of potting soil to help it get going. the plant was very small when i got it. was a Hirts plant. put on only 3in. of new growth in 2 yrs. i may need to move it. its in the low wet spot in the yard. i should have a good amount of blacks to use next summer so id like to try the syrup.my honey berries are slow to establish as well but not as bad as this currant. took me 4 yrs. for my indigo gem/ treat to reach 3ft. and fruit. maybe i need to put more plants in pots. ill see how well your tbens do after this winter. they were left out in the snow in 20 gal.pots, with no protection. they have grown to 3ft. bushes from cuttings in 2 years! all the plants in pots I’ve tried overwintering , even in the garage, all died because the roots froze. hopefully these make it . if they do i may go the big pot route with more of my plants.
I’m lucky on that end. I have a nice sandy loam. If anything, it might be a little too far on the sandy end, but nothing a little organic matter won’t help. Makes for easy digging.
Have you thought about mulching around your pots in the winter? That’s how the nursery down the road overwinters all their perennials, shrubs, and trees that they don’t sell. I’ve had success burying pots too, but 20 gal would be pretty big. I do that sometimes when I find really good sales in the fall, but don’t have a spot to plant yet.
I’m jealous! you need a pick axe and s strong back to dig a 15in. deep/ wide hole here. why not much grows well in ground . why planting in mounded potting soil works best for my plants.
