Ribes nigrum Red-, white- and blackcurrents

Planting position: Full sun (cool to warm summers) or semi-shade (very hot summer regions). Ideal for areas with cool winters, but with frost-protection. Spacing of 1,5m (white- and red currants) or 2m (blackcurrents).
Requires regular watering, never allowing soil to dry out completely. Well-draining, compost-enriched loamy soil and generous layers of mulching. Plant out in winter or autumn. Prune (white- and red currants) during winter. Shorten old wood by half to an outward pointing bud to encourage fruiting shoots. Lessen the annual pruning gradually, to about a third of the previous season’s growth. Winter pruning (blackcurrants) of old, dark wood, and thus encouraging new young fruit-bearing growth.
Propagate from late autumn cuttings.
Fertilising programme: Early spring applications of 30g of potassium sulphate (avoid stem contact). Mid spring applications of 15g ammonium sulphate around white- and red currants, and 60g around blackcurrants.
Harvesting is done when the fruit is ready to be eaten.
Pests, diseases and their cures: Blackcurrant nematode - burn all affected parts; Currant clearwing moth - burn affected parts and spray with carbaryl after Harvesting.

Of the three, blackcurrants are most popular.