Looks like a gooseberry, but is in fact, a species of currant, Ribes divaricatum, from the western United States. Worcesterberries are big, vigorous, upright and very thorny – makes a good stock-proof hedge, but not one for the smaller garden, where it’s more manageable grown as a cordon. Reliable, heavy cropper, with small, smooth-skinned, purplish-red berries, almost black when fully ripe, looking like large blackcurrants but tasting more like a gooseberry. The berries are tart, slightly sweeter than gooseberries, and make a very good jam – pick when completely ripe. Immune to American gooseberry mildew and blackcurrant big bud mite, so useful where these have been a problem.
Site: Tolerates some exposure
Soil: Any well-drained
Position: Full sun
Pick: Early July
Keep: Freezes well
Hardiness: Hardy
Pollination: Self-fertile
Uses: Cooking and preserving
Height: 6’+ (2m) Spread 6’+ (2m)
Sign up for restock notifications
Future Forests has been supplying plants by mail order since 1986 and selling online since 2016.
Future Forests
Kealkill
Bantry
Co Cork
Ireland
P75 H958
info@futureforests.ie
Tel: 00353 (0) 27 66176
Office Hours: Mon to Sat 10am to 4 pm
© 2024, Future Forests Powered by Shopify