Sources for Rondom redcurrant? -- found it!

Here in NH, they require a permit to plant Ribes, with only a few varieties allowed. The only redcurrant they allow is called Rondom. As far as I can tell, there are no US nurseries selling this variety. Does anyone know of a mail order source in the US that carries it?

Edit: TL/DR version. Whitman Farms has it! Not listed on her website, so you have to ask.
http://www.whitmanfarms.com/

that is strange. here in n Maine we are allowed all reds and whites but no european black currant (Ribes nigrum) the southern half of the state doesn’t allow any Ribes at all. I’ve never heard of Rondom. maybe a european red? there are several reds that are WPBR immune, sold online here in the U.S. how would they know the difference between cultivars?

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I’ve done a search for them and they aren’t offered here in the U.S. how convenient! id just order a WPBR resistant cultivar red and if anyone asks its a rondom. rondom isn’t even listed as WPBR resistant. one of the stupidest laws in new england!

Get Rovada it is one of the best reds. I ripped out my other reds and plan to replace them with Rovada. I’m sure others are good too, but the ones I had Laxton’s no1 and London Market were inferior to Rovada which had longer strings of berries that were bigger too.

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I have the same problem in Michigan. My plan is to e-mail the person in charge of permitting for my state and link to some of the research data from the USDA station in Corvalis in regards to which varieties are White Pine Blister Rust resistant and see if I can get them to loosen up their knickers in this regard.
If you’re looking for similar info, the paper is here:
https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/47870/PDF

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tried this as well as many others, over the last 15 yrs. the state doesn’t want to allow these plants back in. the big lumber companies are paying off politicians to keep these plants out even tho. these arcane laws have done little to effectively stop WPBR from occurring. too bad as currant could become one of the most economically feasible crops in this state.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the restriction in Michigan just about black currants?

I’ve had Red Lake for well over a decade, but I am looking to add another (JvT) this year. I also have white, pink, black as well as Josta, and many gooseberries.

Scott

btw… BrambleberryMeadow, welcome to our little forum.

You will find there are quite a number of us Michiganders here.

Scott

Thank you, Chills, I’m happy to have found you all. I got pointed here twice, once from GardenWeb, and once from the SkillCult apple breeding videos, via a FB list. :slight_smile:

Michigan has “split state” status. In some counties, it’s just the black currants. In others (which presumably have a higher level of White Pine, judging my the map), you must have a permit and varieties are restricted.

The problem is, they’re such a minor fruit that I don’t think anyone is really keeping up on current research regarding the issue. I’m hoping if I’m polite but firm and have my citations all in a row I can get them to rethink it.

let us know how it goes. if you have some success with them, i would be interested in how you went about it. here in Maine they won’t even consider entertaining the idea

@moose71 - For clarification, did you wrangle with Michigan? And do you remember when and with whom?

I do know there is a U-pick farm in Kent County that has red, black, and white currants. And I’m pretty darned sure that she doesn’t have Rondom. (I asked once - I think they are Red Lake?) So somebody got them to unbend about it once.

In my day job as a vet, I do interact with MDARD. I find that success or failure in getting them to unbuckle their bureaucratic belt a notch or two depends on A. if what I’m asking is reasonable, B. that I can successfully argue a lack of risk, C. I am polite and professional about the request (and often just a bit self-deprecating. A bit of ego-stroking doesn’t hurt), and D. that who I am dealing with is susceptible to A-C.

I actually understand their concerns re: WPBR, but I do agree with you that the bulk of the evidence suggests that nuking the ribes from orbit doesn’t have much effect as a control measure. Past experience with MDARD, however, would be that “you’re doing it wrong” is not a good approach. Goodness knows that the Emerald Ash Borer quarantine was pretty ineffective.

It must also be admitted that industry voices are just louder than individual would-be fruit growers. In this case, the lumber industry. My mother is quite disappointed that she can’t get a Ka-Bluey blueberry plant. I’m guessing that the one source for it doesn’t want to bother with the phytosanitary certificate. And the blueberry industry pushed hard for that lockdown. Again, not without reason, but it does sort of pinch the little guys.

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no. i dealt with Maines version. like MI the state is split. in northern counties you can grow reds, whites and gooseberry. in the southern part , all of them are banned. the law also states that you can’t import any Ribes without getting permission from the state. I’ve tried several times to get permission only to be given the run around saying they can’t confirm the plants coming in aren’t carrying diseases. i argued the fact that people buy plants from out of state, online all the time. they responded by saying if i was found to import these plants illegally i would be fined ! so basically they are saying no one in Maine is able to buy ANY plants out of state without state permission. I’ve talked to several of our politicians and they told me basically to ignore that law and buy what you want because its not enforced. but i feel if they wanted to make a example of me they could.

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Yes, I could tell stories about conflicting advice I’ve gotten from MDARD. My favorite being “make something up.”

I’m going to put together a request via MRARD to ask them to expand their choices a bit, based on the Corvalis data. I do vaguely recall there being a paper discussing WPBR on some formerly considered “resistant” varieties found in NH, so I’m not sure the OP will have much luck.

BUT, for both @jcguarneri and myself, does anyone know anything about London Market, New York 72, and Sabine?

For the OP, you may be able to request Rondom cuttings from the USDA GRIN system next season. It looks like the request feature is currently gone, probably until they open it back up in the fall? If they are testing the variety, it would make sense that they maintain some. Although I’m told that cuttings are somewhat more hit-or-miss than scion wood for trees.

i found a study done in 2016 in N.H where they assessed the % of wild currants statewide and their ability to spread WPBR. they tested in random spots and recorded where they found WPBR and what types of Ribes was the hosts. this was spurred by a cultivated planting of titania in s NH that was found to be infected in a field and caused a outbreak. they determined the WPBR fungus had mutated to a new strain that titania wasn’t immune to. this is probably the reason these states aren’t budging on their quarantine laws. thing is this could happen with anything in nature. if it isn’t WPBR it could be something else.

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I believe that restriction was lifted. They will ship to Michigan now. I have one, not a bad blueberry either! I like it! I heard it was soft, but it’s not as soft as Toro. I’m happy with it, the flavor is excellent.

I would order one now and surprise her with it, that should buy you all kinds of points, unless she has no place ready to put it.

Only restricted to CA now!

Today they have 25 bucks off a 50 dollar order, buy a pack of seeds or something.
Get on their mailing list for offers. Never pay full price here!

why was a blueberry restricted in the 1st place?

I think they require certain tests to make sure it has no latent viruses is my best guess. Blueberries are a major crop in Michigan, so they are protecting it. Sometimes it takes a long time, even MSU cultivars were restricted for a bit. Funny! Most now are clear. New cultivars will be restricted until they are tested.

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that is funny as Maine is one of the strictest in the northeast for restricting plants and animals not native to the state and Maines 2nd biggest cash crop is blueberries yet there is no restriction to this cultivar that i know off.

Here’s a new one and it is restricted in MI. In a year or so it will be cool.

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you guys in MI want these blueberries let me know.ill order it and have it sent to you. :wink:

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