Alpine Currant

(Saxifragaceae - Saxifrage Family)

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• Form
  • medium-sized foliage shrub
  • maturing at about 5' tall by 7' wide (if left unpruned)
  • upright oval growth habit in youth, becoming spreading with age
  • medium growth rate

• Culture
  • full sun to full shade
  • performs best in full sun in moist, well-drained soils, but is very adaptable to dry soils, compacted soils, drought, shade, soils of various pH, and heavy shearing or pruning
  • propagated by rooted stem cuttings
  • Saxifrage Family, with anthracnose and leaf spot being the primary cosmetic diseases that may occur during very wet periods of Spring or Summer; other diseases and pests may occur but they are relatively minor
  • commonly available, primarily in container form but also in ball and burlap form

• Foliage
  • medium- to dark green, alternate, ovate, shallowly trilobed, with margins that are doubly serrated, dentate, or crenate
  • Spring foliage emerges early and is bright green, changes to medium- or dark green in Summer with an attractive gloss on the leaf uppersides, while fall color is dark green to chartreuse and ornamentally poor

• Flowers
  • dioecious (rarely perfect), green-yellow, flowering in April, and noticeable but ornamentally insignificant
  • female form is generally not sold (males are supposedly resistant to rust diseases, while females are alternate hosts; therefore, males are exclusively propagated for landscape situations, since disease dispersal by females would severely impact agricultural grain crops)

• Fruits
  • scarlet juicy berries occur in mid-Summer, on female plants or plants having a few perfect flowers (but generally not applicable, as only males are propagated and sold)
  • other members of this genus are important as agricultural small fruits crops (the Currants and Gooseberries)

• Twigs
  • fairly stout, slightly ridged to striated, and exfoliating lightly on older stems
  • light gray-brown to bright tan stems, with prominent, alternate, lime-green, relatively large terminal and lateral buds in late Summer that change to light tan buds in Winter

• Trunk
  • not applicable

• ID Summary
  • trilobed and crenate bright green Spring foliage arises from fairly stout stems, becoming glossy medium- to dark green in Summer, with prominent lime-green late Summer lateral and terminal buds that transition to tan buds on tan Winter stems
  • often sheared into hedge or spherical form, but naturally dense and spreading with age if left unpruned

• Function
  • informal or formal hedge, or in group or mass plantings (where tough shrubs with dependable, season-long, dense foliage are desired [without showy flowers, fruits, or fall color, in sun or shade situations])

• Texture
  • medium texture in foliage and when bare
  • thick density in foliage and when bare

• Assets
  • bright green foliage in Spring transitions to medium- or dark green glossy Summer foliage
  • foliages all the way to the ground as a hedge (virtually unique among deciduous hedges, due to its shade tolerance)
  • responds well to heavy pruning or shearing
  • urban stress tolerant
  • very cold hardy

• Liabilities
  • has little ornamental appeal (insignificant flowers, no fruits, and poor fall color) other than its dense green foliage
  • occasional cosmetic diseases may render the foliage unattractive

• Habitat
  • zones 2 to 7
  • native to Europe

• Alternates
  • nondescript deciduous shrubs used as hedges, in group plantings, or as green globes (Ligustrum obtusifolium, Lonicera xylosteum, Viburnum opulus 'Nanum', etc.)
  • hedges for shady situations that do not become leggy (Buxus, Taxus x media, etc.)

• Variants
  • the straight species (male form) has traditionally been the primary form available, but increasingly the following cultivar is becoming widespread:
  • Ribes alpinum 'Green Mound' - a dwarf and even more dense male form, to 3' tall and wide, with greater resistance to foliage diseases

• Translation
  • Ribes translates as "acid-tasting" from the Arabic word ribas, referring to the bitterness of the fruits (on female forms in its native habitat).
  • alpinum translates as "alpine", referring to its indigenous habitat in the mountains of Europe (hence the common name).

• Purpose
  • Ribes alpinum is a better deciduous alternative to Border Privet or European Fly Honeysuckle as a formal or informal hedge in cold-Winter climates, in either sunny or shady situations, due to its more vigorous growth and its shade tolerance that allows it to maintain foliage to the ground.

• Summary
  • Alpine Currant is known as a common formal or informal hedge, with bright green Spring foliage and stout, stiff stems, usually pruned to about 3' tall as a linear hedge, and also found in low-maintenance group plantings where coverage without ornamental appeal (basically no flowers, fruits, fall color, or Winter interest) is desired or accepted.