Currant varieties
Currant is a plant from the flowering genus, class - dicotyledons, family - gooseberry. On average, a currant bush has a height of about 3 – 4 meters. The root system is strong, some species can go 2 meters deep. The shoots are usually straight, long, and can also be red, brown or gray in color. Currant foliage is unusual. As a rule, it consists of several “blades”. The leaves have jagged, long or round ends.
In Russia, at the moment there are a huge number of types and varieties of currants. The most popular type is black currant. Many gardeners like to plant decorative varieties in their plots, since currant bushes have an impeccable smell and can easily decorate your garden during the harvest period.
Characteristics of blackcurrant varieties
This species is very unique, as new varieties continue to appear and are constantly being bred. Many of them have attractive bush shapes, large fruits with good taste and high resistance to parasites and various ailments.
All varieties of black currant are divided into:
- Early varieties
- Medium varieties
- Medium late varieties
“Summer resident” — It ripens earliest in the central part of Russia. It produces new fruits quite quickly, which, by the way, have a good weight for early berries — approximately 3 grams each fruit. The bushes are not very tall, but lush, so much so that during the harvest period, the branches lie on the ground. The berries have a good, sweet taste. Good resistance to mites, as well as diseases such as anthracnose and rust.
“Selechinskaya 2” — has little resemblance to black currant, by inheritance it looks more like gooseberry and wild currant. The branches are strong enough, you don’t even need to tie them up. The bush survives hot weather and drought well. It bears fruit early and a lot, about 5 kilograms of berries - this is one bush. The berries themselves are large, sweet, round in shape, black in color, and weigh 4 g each on average. They also have a high concentration of vitamin “C” — 160 mg per approximately 110 g. Grows well in any climate and zone of Russia.
“Exotic” — has the largest fruits of all early varieties. One berry weighs approximately 5 grams. The fruits have a pleasant, sweet taste with sourness; during the fruiting period they dry out slightly and become easier to collect. In terms of yield, the variety produces a lot of berries quickly. It grows into a strong bush, with strong branches, and is well resistant to winter and ailments such as “powdery mildew.”
Medium grades include:
“Izyumnaya” — This variety belongs to the “dessert” class. It has large, medium-sized fruits, their weight is about 3 grams, they have a pleasant smell and contain a large amount of vitamin C. Good resistance to aridity, low temperatures and some diseases such as powdery mildew.
“Dubrovskaya” — It tolerates winter well and pests such as bud mites, as well as such ailments as “anthracnose” and “terry disease”. Bears a large number of medium-sized berries. The bush itself is small and neat looking.
“Perun” — has high resistance to drought and winter. It tolerates powdery mildew, anthracnose and pests quite well. Bears many large, fragrant berries.
“Dobrynya” — resists drought and cold well. Ideally copes with diseases, not bad with pests. The bush is small in size, but quite strong, and the fruits are very large.
Medium late varieties include:
“Vologda” — Excellent resistance to winter and diseases, except for “rust”, and also copes well with ticks. It bears a good harvest, 4 kilograms per bush. The fruits are large, but do not ripen at the same time.
“Vigorous” — bears very large fruits, up to 8 grams. Inside, the berries are dense, but juicy, and have a sour taste. They ripen quite late, but there are a lot of them. Tolerates winter well, but moderate to disease and parasites. Extremely competent care is required, otherwise the shoots may not grow. The bush itself is lush and medium in size. This variety was bred specifically for cold climates.
“Mermaid” — Of all other varieties, it bears fruit first. It resists well low temperatures, the following diseases: powdery mildew, septoria, anthracnose and ticks. Bears a fairly rich harvest. The berries themselves are large.
“Katyusha” — It resists well low temperatures and the following diseases: powdery mildew, septoria, but is not resistant to ticks. The fruits are large and very dense. The bush is tall and not lush.
“Venus” — It has large fruits with an average weight of 4.5 grams, which do not have a very dense shell, but have a pleasant taste. It resists frost and drought well, but not very resistant to diseases and ticks. It produces a lot of berries during the harvest period, which comes quite early. The bush itself is medium in size and has a strong branch structure.
A common variety of red currant
Red currants have their advantages, differences and disadvantages over other types of currants and, nevertheless, are not inferior to them in popularity. The most common variety is:
“Natalie” — has strong lush bushes. The fruits are miniature, their weight is usually less than a gram. It looks red, has a classic color, it tastes sweet and sour, overall pleasant. Its popularity lies in the fact that this variety can easily tolerate any frost, disease and parasites, and also produce a huge amount of berries. The fruits ripen around July, until the beginning of August (they do not fall).
But we do not recommend that you plant only one variety on your plot, which has proven itself to be the best; you need to have at least two. For example, here are some good varieties to support "Natalie":
“Rondom” — variety from a neighboring country, the Netherlands. Just like “Natalie”, it tolerates severe frosts and common diseases. It is rarely affected by septoria disease. Its main difference from “Natalie” is its resistance to drought, but this reduces the number of berries.
“Rosetta” — This is an excellent variety, characterized by the speed of harvest. The berries are of a classic size, bright, with excellent taste. The bush has a spreading shape and is quite tall. It has thick branches and shoots growing vertically. Harvest period — this is usually the middle of summer.
“Roland” — This variety is distinguished by a large number of berries — about 7 kilograms per bush. It has large fruits, with a pleasant taste and slight sourness. The bush itself is quite strong and durable, and the shoots are straight. Resists frost, disease and ticks very well.
“Dutch Red” — As is already clear from the name, the variety was brought from Europe, but we are in no way inferior to the local ones. It has tall, not very lush bushes with dense foliage. The fruits have classic sizes, sour taste and a large amount of juice. The ripening period for this variety is early August, quite late. Resists droughts and powdery mildew well, and is affected by anthracnose.
“Beloved” — a good variety that produces a harvest in mid-late summer. Resists frost and fungi well. The fruits have a classic, bright color, weigh approximately 0.4 grams, and taste sweet with a slight sourness. The shrub is not very lush in shape, medium in size.
“Red Cross” — variety of American origin. It has small fruits, with a transparent structure and a sweet and sour taste. The shrub is of medium size and has a rather lush shape of branches and leaves. Resists winter and fungi well. Gives harvest in mid-July.