Ribes alpinum
Alpine Currant
(Saxifragaceae - Saxifrage Family)
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FEATURES
- 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
- 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
USAGE
- 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
SELECTIONS
- 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
NOTES
- 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.
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