How to Grow Redcurrants UK

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Redcurrant (Ribes rubrum)
  2. When to Plant Redcurrants in the UK
  3. Quick Facts
  4. At a Glance
  5. Soil & Growing Conditions
  6. Growth Stages
  7. Harvest & Storage
  8. Diseases
  9. Pests
  10. Redcurrant, Parent of Whitecurrants Too
  11. Plan your Redcurrants planting
  12. Growing Redcurrant in another region
  13. References
  14. Frequently Asked Questions

In the UK, redcurrants go in the ground November to March.

Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: planting from November, while the plants are dormant, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.

The short answer

Plant
November to March
Site
6+ hours of sun, soil pH 6.5–7.5
Biggest risk
Powdery mildew

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Redcurrant (Ribes rubrum)

Hanging clusters of ripe red currants — “Punaherukka - 'Punainen Hollantilainen' - Ribes rubrum” by Ukonkappyra is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

6 sources cited · Verified

When to Plant Redcurrants in the UK

When to plant redcurrants in the UK: in Southern England, plant November to March. Find your area in the table below.

Budding leaves on a redcurrant bush in spring
Budding leaves on a redcurrant bush in spring. Photo by W.carter, CC0.
Region Plant
Southern England November to March
Midlands November to March
Northern England November to March
Scotland November to March
Southern England - detail & sources

RHS: best planted September/October or April/May; a single autumn-to-spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Midlands - detail & sources

RHS: best planted September/October or April/May; a single autumn-to-spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Northern England - detail & sources

RHS: best planted September/October or April/May; a single autumn-to-spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Scotland - detail & sources

RHS: best planted September/October or April/May; a single autumn-to-spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

A page from the UK Vegetable Garden Planner PDF: the crop rotation planner, with a planning grid and four-bed rotation tips

Plan your redcurrants — and the rest of the plot

This page covers redcurrants. For every crop's sowing months on one chart, use the free UK vegetable planting calendar, and browse the UK vegetable growing guides for what else to grow alongside it. When you want the whole season on paper, the UK Vegetable Garden Planner is a printable PDF:

  • Twelve month-by-month sowing and harvest spreads
  • Raised bed, allotment and container layout pages for your own plot
  • A four-year crop rotation planner
  • Seed inventory, sowing log and harvest tracker
See inside the UK Vegetable Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · reprint every season

Quick Facts

Hanging clusters of ripe red currants
Hanging clusters of ripe red currants. Photo by Ukonkappyra, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil pH 6.5 - 7.5
Sunlight 6-6 hours direct sun
Optimal growing temp 10-22°C
Minimum survivable temp -10°C
Drainage Well-drained
Lifecycle perennial
Edible parts fruit

At a Glance

A whitecurrant cultivar, a pale variant of Ribes rubrum
A whitecurrant cultivar, a pale variant of Ribes rubrum. Photo by Ranværing, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ribes rubrum Redcurrant Powdery mildew Honey fungus Coral spot Currant leaf spot Aphids Currant blister aphid Gall mites Capsid bugs Scale insects Gooseberry sawfly DISEASES PESTS

Soil & Growing Conditions

A row of cultivated redcurrant bushes heavy with fruit
A row of cultivated redcurrant bushes heavy with fruit. Photo: “Johannisbeeren - panoramio (1)” by pictures Jettcom, CC BY 3.0.

Soil pH range

6.5 7.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

Young developing clusters of redcurrants
Young developing clusters of redcurrants. Photo: “Jeunes grappes de groseilles à Grez-Doiceau 004” by VerboseDreamer, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Planting 0 Best planted September/October or April/May, propagated by hardwood cuttings taken in autumn (RHS).
Establishment 3 Mulch with well-rotted compost, manure or bark, especially on dry soils; water regularly if container-grown (RHS).
Flowering and fruiting 6 Produces hanging clusters of shining red berries, attractive to pollinators when flowering (RHS).
Mature shrub 9 Reaches full maturity over a notably long 5-10 years, 1.5-2.5m in height, 1-1.5m spread (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

Hanging clusters of ripe red currants
Hanging clusters of ripe red currants. Photo by Ukonkappyra, CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: USU: "Currants ripen over a two-week period in mid-June to mid-July...and change color to a bright red when fully ripe"; fruit "do not need to be harvested as soon as they turn red, as they hold well on the plant"; leaving fruit 2-3 weeks after coloring "will enhance flavor and sweetness"; harvest "the whole cluster at once" since the tender skins tear easily; yield "about 3 to 10 pounds per bush". RHS: protect ripening fruit from birds with netting or a fruit cage.

Storage

Best used fresh or for jams/juice; tender skins tear easily so handle by the cluster

Diseases

A whitecurrant cultivar, a pale variant of Ribes rubrum
A whitecurrant cultivar, a pale variant of Ribes rubrum. Photo by Ranværing, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Honey fungus
low

Armillaria spp.

RHS names this directly.

Coral spot
low

RHS names this directly.

Currant leaf spot
low

RHS names this directly.

Pests

A row of cultivated redcurrant bushes heavy with fruit
A row of cultivated redcurrant bushes heavy with fruit. Photo: “Johannisbeeren - panoramio (1)” by pictures Jettcom, CC BY 3.0.

Aphididae (various spp.)

Currant blister aphid
low

Cryptomyzus ribis

RHS names this directly.

Gall mites
low

Eriophyidae

RHS names this directly.

Capsid bugs
low

Miridae

RHS names this directly.

Scale insects
low

Diaspididae / Coccidae

RHS names this directly.

Gooseberry sawfly
low

Nematus ribesii

RHS names this directly.

Plan your Redcurrants planting

When to sow and plant Redcurrants depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Redcurrants: October. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Redcurrant in another region

Planting dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

References

  3. RHS explicitly does not recommend pesticide use against aphids; recommends tolerance, manual squashing, and encouraging/purchasing natural predators (ladybirds, hoverflies, lacewings, parasitoid wasps, earwigs) as biological control, especially under glass.

6 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I plant redcurrants in the UK?

Plant bare-root redcurrants between November and March, while they are dormant. Pot-grown plants can go in at any time of year but settle best in the dormant season (RHS).

What soil pH do redcurrants need?

A pH of about 6.5–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

What problems affect redcurrants?

Our data links 4 diseases and 6 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — planting at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.

Get the UK Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — planting windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides UK

Crops With the Same Problems

Related Problem Guides

Last verified 2026-08-29

Plan Redcurrants by month

The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:

More from the same group (fruit & berries):

Relevant next steps

Where To Go From Here

Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.

UK garden plannerTurn this crop guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and a harvest record. All growing guidesBrowse every crop we cover for your region, A to Z. Planting CalendarSee how this crop fits alongside everything else you are growing.

Keep going

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Top tips for October
  • Plant garlic before hard frosts
  • Protect late salads with fleece
  • Store squash somewhere dry
  • Mulch empty beds
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